Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued with Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul Wednesday over whether the U.S.’ capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro was an “act of war.”
The U.S. captured Maduro on Jan. 3 and charged him with narco-terrorist and drug trafficking charges. Paul and Rubio sparred during a Senate hearing over whether the U.S. would consider this type of action an “act of war” if a foreign nation captured the U.S. president. Rubio argued that Maduro’s capture does not “come anywhere close” to the constitutional definition of an act of war.
“If a foreign country bombed our air defense missiles, captured and removed our president, and blockaded our country, would that be considered an act of war?” Paul asked.
“Well, I think your question is about the, and I will acknowledge you’ve been very consistent on all these points your entire career, so let me, no matter who’s in charge. So I will point to two things. The first is it’s hard for us to conceive that an operation that lasted about four and a half hours and was a law enforcement operation to capture someone we don’t recognize as a head of state, indicted in the United States, wanted with a $50 million bounty,” Rubio said.
Paul expressed disagreement with Rubio by stating that if any country captured the U.S. president in the same kind of operation carried out in Venezuela, he would declare war. Rubio said the U.S. is always going to act in its national interest and protection.
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“But would it be an act of war if someone did it to us?” Paul said. “Nobody dies, few casualties, they’re in and out, boom, it’s a perfect military operation. Would that be an act of war? Of course it would be an act of war. I’m probably the most anti-war person in the Senate, and I would vote to declare war if someone invaded our country and took our president … So my next question would be, let’s say it’s not a war, and we’re just going to define it away and say it’s not a war. That’s one of the arguments. So it’s a drug bust. What if a foreign country indicts our president for violating a foreign law? Should we extradite our president, or should we be okay if they come in and get him by force?”
“Look, I think ultimately we’re always going to act in our national interest,” Rubio said. “And so if somebody comes after our national interest, like the case you’ve described, which obviously does not exist at this time, but the case you’ve described, the U.S. always has the right to act in its national interest and to protect itself. I don’t know about this equivalency, ‘does it justify them doing it.’ We’re always going to do what’s best for the United States and America. We’re always going to protect our system.”
President Donald Trump’s administration, including Rubio, have repeatedly stated that Maduro’s arrest was simply a “law enforcement action” and not an act of war against Venezuela. Trump said that the move brought Maduro to “justice” and that the U.S. acted within its constitutional authority.
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