The Trump administration's capture of Venezuela's president and claims that it will "run" the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. actions and its future operations in the South American nation.Related video above: U.S. strikes Venezuela, captures President Maduro in overnight operationThe middle-of-the-night seizure of Nicolás Maduro, who was transported with his wife on a U.S. warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York, is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and elsewhere, legal experts said. "Congress has yet to authorize or ban US actionsTrump's administration has declared the drug cartels operating from Venezuela to be unlawful combatants and has said the United States is now in an "armed conflict" with them, according to an administration memo obtained in October by The Associated Press.The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force. That is a new rationale for past and future actions.Congress, which has broad authority to approve or prohibit the president's war powers, has failed to do either, even as lawmakers from both political parties grow increasingly uneasy with the military actions in the region, particularly after it was revealed that U.S. forces killed two survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike.Congress' Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, demanded immediate briefings for the "gang of eight" leaders on Capitol Hill, which includes top members of the Intelligence committees, as well as for other lawmakers.
Author: Lisa Mascaro
Published at: 2026-01-03 23:43:49
Still want to read the full version? Full article
