WASHINGTON—As Republican Lawmakers pushed back against House Democrats for forcing two votes to deny President Donald Trump the ability to use the U.S. Military to continue to attack drug cartels operating out of Venezuela, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R) told The Floridian that he supported regime change, or "the ouster of Maduro."
Rep. Gimenez, who, along with fellow South Florida Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Maria Elvira Salazar have been ardent supporters of the President's ongoing effort to curb the flow of illicit drugs flowing in the country, stating that Maduro was nothing less than an "illegitimate ruler" who "stole the elections" and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans as a result of his drug trafficking.
"I support the ouster of Maduro. For one, he is the illegitimate ruler of Venezuela as he stole the elections held last year, and on top of that, he is also the head of a narco terrorist state responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. For the sake of our security as well as the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, Maduro must go," stated Rep. Gimenez.
Earlier in the week, Gimenez described drug cartels as “probably worse than Al-Qaeda and ISIS,” saying they use lethal amounts of fentanyl laced into other drugs trafficked into the United States.
“The drug cartels are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. So I consider them on the same footing, or probably worse than Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Their weapon of choice is cocaine, a drug, and then they are laced with fentanyl. That's the killer,” Gimenez argued.
When asked about the drug trade, its major players, and notably how Venezuela plays a part in U.S. drug trafficking, the Congressman said “there's more than just Venezuela,” placing blame on Colombia and, notably Mexico for lacing drugs with lethal doses of fentanyl.
“You know, there's more than just Venezuela. Colombia, obviously, but in my mind, there's Mexico. The Mexican drug cartels are the ones that actually lace it. I have issues with them too,” Gimenez concluded.
Could President Trump and Secretary of War Hegseth pivot and also target Colombia's Clan del Golfo drug cartel? The Colombian drug cartel was recently designated a terrorist organization by the Trump administration.
“I strongly oppose this resolution which limits the United States' ability to fight narco-terrorist traffickers in our own hemisphere, where we are most directly impacted,” said Rep. Diaz-Balart shortly before two House Democrat measures failed on the floor of the House of Representatives.
