Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a South Florida Democrat with a sizable Venezuelan population in her district, bucked her party Saturday to praise President Donald Trump’s capture of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Wasserman Schultz said the U.S. military operation removing Maduro from power is “welcome news” for the millions of Venezuelans living in exile, though she argued Congress should have been informed. Conversely, a chorus of congressional Democrats immediately slammed the successful military operation as illegal and contrary to American interests.
“The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela’s people is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule,” Wasserman Schultz wrote on X Saturday morning.
The South Florida Democrat, who notably chaired the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2011 to 2016, also called for a “liberated Venezuela” featuring democratic rule, arguing “cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows.”
“This action offers beleaguered Venezuelans a chance to seat their true, democratically elected president, Edmundo González,” Wasserman Schultz continued.
Democratic Florida Rep. Darren Soto, who represents a district south of Orlando, similarly lauded the operation as a “major step towards a #VenezuelaLibre,” referring to a “Free Venezuela” in a Saturday X post. However, Soto also chided the president for failing to seek congressional approval, which the Trump administration has argued was not necessary.
Other congressional Democrats, who have tried to restrict Trump’s authority to use military force on Venezuela for months, excoriated the military operation.
“Second unjustified war in my life time. This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year,” Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego wrote on X shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday. “There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”
“[S]tarting a war to remove Maduro doesn’t just continue Donald Trump’s trampling of the Constitution, it further erodes America’s standing on the world stage and risks our adversaries mirroring this brazen illegal escalation,” Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff, a vocal Trump critic, said Saturday.
Republicans meanwhile disputed that the United States is at war with Venezuela and the Trump administration has not said they are weighing additional military action.
Many Florida lawmakers enthusiastically backed the seizure of Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, who were indicted Saturday on federal charges in the Southern District of New York.
“Maduro’s narco-dictatorship has ENDED,” Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who represents a South Florida district covering downtown Miami, wrote on X. “The narcoterrorist who poisoned our children, exported crime to our neighborhoods through the Tren de Aragua, and turned Venezuela into a State of terror will now face the justice of the United States.”
“This is peace through strength on full display,” Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the military operation, said Saturday. “Today, America and the world are a safer place.”
South Florida is home to the largest Venezuelan diaspora within the United States. Roughly 40% of the residents in Doral, Florida — a city west of Miami — are of Venezuelan descent.
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