Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) called out Democrats, including the 2026 gubernatorial candidates in Florida, for defending and staying silent about Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro after his recent capture by the U.S. military in a post to X (formerly Twitter).
The post is a response to a statement by Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL), who said, "What President Trump is doing in Venezuela is illegal, dangerous, and outside the bounds of his constitutional authority."
While Rep. Frost emphasized that Maduro is "an authoritarian," he suggested that, "This is a moment that carries many feelings across the Venezuelan diaspora."
"No President can unilaterally drag our nation into a war without congressional authorization — and his claim that the U.S. is now 'going to run the country' of Venezuela until a so-called 'proper transition' takes place is unacceptable and unconstitutional," Rep. Frost concluded in his post.
In response, Rep. Donalds said, "I support President Trump's decisive action to promote freedom in Venezuela and protect America from narcoterrorism. I join Florida's Venezuelan community in celebrating today."
Additionally, Rep. Donalds alluded to his 2026 gubernatorial campaign by calling out Jerry Demings and David Jolly, the primary Democratic candidates, asking, "Do @DemingsforGov and @DavidJollyFL stand with Maxwell Frost and Maduro or do they stand for freedom and the Venezuelan community?"
Donalds is not the only Florida Republican to celebrate the capture of Maduro, with Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) comparing it to the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, saying, "it marks the beginning of the end for narco-terrorist regimes that have terrorized their people, flooded our communities with deadly drugs, and destabilized the Americas."
Similarly, Rep. Frost is not the only Florida Democrat to express concern about the action, with Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) saying that while she is happy Maduro has been ousted, "cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows," and thus, "Venezuelans deserve the promise of democracy and the rule of law, not a state of endless violence and spiraling disorder."
