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The United States has long prided itself on being a nation of law and order. We knew the second term of President Donald Trump was likely to be filled with challenges to moral and legal boundaries — and it certainly has been.
But this weekend’s military operation in Venezuela, in which U.S. forces captured the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, while killing 40 people, shattered U.S. and international norms.
The U.S. has long been involved in efforts to undermine regimes that challenged U.S. interests. Many of those interventions were wrong, and, in some cases, even illegal. The events in Venezuela are different because of their brazenness. Trump said he informed oil companies of his plans, but didn’t tell Congress, as it is legally required to do.
The administration’s rationale for military intervention against Venezuela has also been shifting. First, it was about stopping the supposed flow of illegal drugs to the U.S., a rationale undermined by the fact that Venezuela is not a source of fentanyl and that Trump last month pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was convicted by a U.S. court of helping to traffic millions of dollars worth of cocaine into the U.S.
But, this weekend, Trump said plainly that U.S. action to remove Maduro was necessary to secure the country’s oil reserves — the largest in the world — and make them available to Western companies to sell to other countries. Venezuela nationalized its oil resources in 2007, a misguided decision, but one a sovereign country is free to make.
To be clear, Maduro is a bad guy who has not followed the laws of Venezuela or the international community. He refused to give up power despite losing the 2024 presidential election. He’s corrupt, he’s ruthless and he’s an illegitimate dictator.
However, that does not give the U.S. — or any other country — the right to essentially kidnap him and install its own government in Venezuela for the benefit of corporate interests. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. But the U.S. hasn’t moved to kidnap them. Trump has also been indicted on dozens of charges, including by the U.S. Department of Justice for his involvement in a conspiracy to defraud voters with his claims of a rigged election in 2020.
Trump has said he will “run” Venezuela, although the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, seems to think she is in charge. The administration sidestepped opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who won two-thirds of the vote in the 2024 election and María Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month. Trump has long believed he should win the prize and an unnamed source close to the White House told the Washington Post that if Machado had declined the prize and said it should go to Trump, she would now be the leader of Venezuela. Colored by such petty grievances, the Trump administration seems to have no concrete plans for what running Venezuela entails.
Worse, Trump has said that Venezuela is just the start. He said he’s preparing to take over or force a regime change in Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and even Greenland, a U.S. ally and NATO member.
Any such actions would violate international law. They are also counter to the promises Trump made when running for president. He endlessly pledged a policy of “America first.” It’s hard to see how toppling foreign leaders, taking over oil reserves and threatening to interfere with numerous countries around the world puts America first. It gives dangerous rulers, such as Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, license to follow Trump’s lead by taking over territory they’ve long claimed belongs to their countries.
Congress, as with so many other legally questionable actions by the Trump administration, has been largely missing in action. A resolution to restrict the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela — after the U.S. military unilaterally blew up more than two dozen boats and killed more than 100 people the administration said were carrying drugs — failed to pass late last year. Sen. Susan Collins was the only member of Maine’s delegation to vote against it.
It is not too late for Congress to reclaim its authority before the Trump administration launches more dangerous, unilateral, illegal actions.
As Democratic Rep. Jared Golden posted on Facebook on Monday: “Maduro is an adversary to the United States and an illegitimate leader. Venezuela is better off without his influence, and I’m not shedding any tears for him. But the Constitution delegates war powers to Congress, and this kind of action should not have happened without consultation of the people’s representatives.”
“The president must advise Congress … about the administration’s plans going forward,” he added. “This is a crucial moment not only for shaping America’s role in the region, but for the separation of powers and the rule of law. Congress must meet the moment.”
Indeed, Congress must meet this moment with necessary engagement and oversight. Otherwise, the U.S. risks becoming the lawless country that we have long fought against.