Captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges. Shortly after announcing the weekend operation in Venezuela, President Trump praised the mission.
“This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history,” Trump said Saturday.
The President said nothing done so far has required congressional approval. But some members of Congress disagree, and questions remain about what comes next.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” President Donald Trump said Saturday at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. Trump said the “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”
Boston 25 News anchor Kerry Kavanaugh spoke one-on-one with Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton, a Democrat who sits on the House Armed Services Committee. Moulton said not only was Congress not involved in the decision-making regarding the mission, he says the administration told lawmakers just weeks ago there were no plans for action inside Venezuela.
During the interview, Kavanaugh pressed Moulton on what comes next.
“So what happens next is the big question. What happens next in Venezuela? The president is saying, we’re going to run it. The U.S. is going to run it for the time being. The Secretary of State has a slightly different language he’s using around it. What is your understanding of what happens next, in Venezuela,” Kavanaugh asked.
“Like the rest of America, we have no understanding, because this administration won’t be straight with us,” Moulton said. “They won’t explain what their goals are, and they clearly have no plan for what comes next. Which, of course, as any of us who experienced Iraq know, is a recipe for disaster. The idea that we are going to go in and run Venezuela, it’s not in our national interests. It’s not an American’s interest. And look, we’ve got a lot of problems here at home today. A lot of people are wondering how they’re going to afford healthcare. President Trump wants to spend money on foreign wars, but not on making healthcare affordable for Americans.”
Kavanaugh followed up by asking, “Let me go back to that. Is it really not in America’s interest to have Maduro out of power?”
“Supposedly this is about regime change, right, because they got rid of Maduro, and yet they’ve empowered his regime,” Moulton said. “His regime is still running the country.”
Kavanaugh then asked what role Congress could play going forward.
“So, what happens next in terms of members of Congress? What are you going to ask for?” she said.
“I’m going to ask for vote on MY bill about whether taxpayer funds can be spent on an occupation in Venezuela,” Moulton said. “We ought to have that vote because it’s constitutionally our responsibility in Congress to make that decision.”
“So obviously, from a military standpoint, this was a well-executed ousting of Maduro,” Kavanaugh said. “Do you really think they went in with that well of an executed plan for the ousting and not have a plan for what comes next?” she asked.
“That’s a great question. I literally do,” Moulton said. “I think they went in with a brilliant military tactical plan to take out Maduro. And of course, our troops are the best in the world. I’m very proud to be a Marine veteran myself. I am very proud of the ability of our troops to do missions like this. That doesn’t make it justifiable.”
Kavanaugh also asked about the likelihood of congressional action.
“Democrats aren’t in power, they don’t have the majority, you want to vote on your bill. I imagine others are going to want congressional hearings. Do you think either of those have a shot of happening?” she said.
“Well, we’re working very hard to try to get a few Republicans, to peel off a few republicans to agree with us on this because that’s what you literally have to do in order to get hearing on these things, to get to vote on these pieces of legislation,” Moulton said. “But I know privately that a lot of Republicans agree with me.”
“When you’re back in session this week, is there any plan right now to have a congressional hearing on what led to this and then what comes next?” Kavanaugh asked.
“We’re talking about it, we’re pressing Republicans, but I don’t think that anything has been solidified yet,” Moulton said.
On Sunday night, Trump has said the United States plans to take control of rebuilding Venezuela.
“Well, I think we’re looking more at getting it fixed, getting it ready first, because it’s a mess. The country is a mess. It’s been horribly run,” Trump said. “The oil is just flowing at a very low level, much lower than, even if it was badly run, it should have more income, more oil than what they’re doing. So, we’re gonna have the big oil companies go in, and they’re gonna fix the infrastructure, they’re gonna invest money.”
He added “We’re gonna run everything. We’re gonna run it, fix it. We’ll have elections at the right time,” Trump said. “The main thing you have to fix, it’s a broken country. There’s no money. There’s inflation, like we would’ve had, if I didn’t win this election, we would’ve been Venezuela on steroids.”
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