Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez (R) defended President Donald Trump’s military operation to secure and capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Democratic lawmakers are furious with Trump, and last weekend held an emergency caucus meeting to discuss the military operation in Venezuela.
“Congress did not authorize this war. Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States. This is a reckless, elective regime change risking American lives (Iraq 2.0) with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.” Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton (D) wrote on X.
Despite the heavy Democrat Party pushback, Gimenez and other Florida Republicans are praising the operation and citing Maduro’s narco terrorism and “American blood on his hands.”
“Are you really trying to defend a narco terrorist dictator? You're coming out of the defense of a narco terrorist dictator that has American blood [on his hands]. Are you out of your minds?” Gimenez questioned. “Why? Because it was President Trump, and President Trump can't do anything right?”
“President Trump does a lot of things right. And this is one, we need to back what the president is doing, and again, I'm super proud.” Gimenez concluded.
Previously, Gimenez equated the capture of Maduro to the fall of the Berlin Wall, calling the military operation “this hemisphere's equivalent of the Fall of the Berlin Wall" after a discussion with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Democrats fear that U.S. control over Venezuela would only lead to a similar situation to what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan when the U.S. took control of those countries.
“The promotion of security and stability in a region requires more than just military force, as we painfully discovered in Iraq and Afghanistan.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
It is said that several Republican lawmakers said they had been personally briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday; however, few, if any, Democrats appear to have gotten that same courtesy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed “the administration has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela.” He accused the Trump administration of not “being straight with Americans” and that the “idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans.”
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