STATEMENT: Trump Had No Justification To Carry Out a Coup in Venezuela

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. forces carried out a military strike in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. In response, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:

President Donald Trump’s coup in Venezuela is based on a lie. Venezuela does not pose a national security threat to the American people. The capture of Maduro is a blatant violation of international law. While he was clearly an authoritarian tyrant who held onto power through massive election fraud, he posed no military threat to the United States.

President Trump is using Maduro’s indictment on drug charges as a rationale for this act of war, but Trump recently pardoned a former Honduran president who helped traffic massive quantities of cocaine into the United States. Trump promised Americans he would stay out of wars, but his irresponsible actions are only leading to more chaos that puts Americans in danger and makes the United States less trusted in the world. Our country has an infamous history of regime change that feels good in the moment but ages very badly.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].