By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Los Angeles’ Congressional delegation was unanimous in condemning the Trump administration’s invasion of Venezuela this weekend and extracting Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores to face narco-terrorism charges in U.S. Courts.
While some of SoCal’s federal lawmakers did admit Maduro is a ruthless dictator, they decried Trump’s unilateral decision to invade a sovereign country as unconstitutional.
“Nicolás Maduro was a brutal dictator who has not respected the electoral will of his people. But that doesn’t justify Donald Trump bypassing Congress and launching a U.S. attack on Venezuela. We have seen no evidence that Maduro was planning to attack the U.S. or our interests,” said U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, Hollywood).
“Launching a war without Congressional authorization is unconstitutional. Trump has put our service members in the line of fire without providing a valid rationale, or a credible path to a positive resolution.
U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas) had similar thoughts, calling “Maduro is an oppressive dictator who has inflicted profound suffering on the Venezuelan people.”
“They deserve democracy, the protection of human rights, and the ability to determine their own future. However, that reality does not justify Donald Trump’s decision to initiate an unauthorized military action against Venezuela without Congressional approval,” said Brownley.
“Trump’s reckless action risks drawing the United States into a protracted conflict and has created dangerous uncertainty and instability for both Venezuela and the American people. The President is acting beyond his constitutional authority and has no legal basis to unilaterally assert U.S. control over another nation.
“Congress must be immediately and fully briefed on this unauthorized use of military force, and the American people deserve full transparency and accountability for these actions and their consequences.”
But U.S. Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Culver City, View Park-Windsor Hills, parts of South LA) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Downtown LA, Koreatown, Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock) said that there is no justification for Trumps actions, and they have made this country and the world less safe.
“The self-proclaimed president of peace has once again resorted to war. After months of conducting extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, this rogue president has just escalated his illegal campaign by carrying out military strikes in Venezuela without any declaration of war or authorization of military force from Congress,” said Kamlager-Dove.
“President Trump has not offered the American people any clear strategic objective for a U.S. invasion of Venezuela except to take over its oil reserves. Trump has repeatedly lied to Congress about his intentions—an evasion of accountability that has led the U.S. into prolonged military conflicts before. These military operations are a return to the same failed playbook of Cold War-era interventionism and regime change that decades later still hangs over—and will now re-poison—U.S. engagement in the region. And it emboldens autocrats around the world who can argue that invasions are an acceptable tool of foreign policy.”
Gomez called Trump’s military action illegal without congressional authorization.
“That is why I supported War Powers resolutions last month to prevent exactly this kind of unchecked use of force, resolutions that House Republicans blocked,” said Gomez. “While Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate leader, his government posed no imminent military threat to the United States. This action risks destabilizing Venezuela, plunging the country into chaos, and dragging the United States into yet another endless war or open-ended nation-building effort.
“For months, President Trump, who promised to be the most transparent president in U.S. history and to end foreign wars, misled the American people about his intentions. Congress and the American people deserve the truth, not another forever war launched in the dark.”
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Inglewood, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Lomita) Co-Chair of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus, and dean of the LA County Congressional delegation, took a more partisan stance.
“While Maduro has inflicted real harm on the people of Venezuela, including collaborating with drug traffickers and terrorists, no president—especially Donald Trump—has the authority to bypass Congress to launch military strikes against a sovereign nation, while brazenly admitting that controlling Venezuela’s oil is part of his motivation,” said Waters.
Waters noted that Trump once again chose to unilaterally attack and ignore Congress’s constitutional role that authorizes such force, and the president’s abuse of power demands a serious and immediate response from Congressional members of both parties.
“During Donald Trump’s first term, I called for his impeachment under then Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was impeached twice, yet escaped accountability due to a lack of Republican support. Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view. Even if Republicans refuse to act, Democrats cannot remain silent or passive in the face of actions this extreme from this Administration,” said Waters.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-Santa Monica, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Manhattan Beach) called Trump, saying, “We are going to run the country.” an illegal international distraction from national issues that he will vote to stop.
“This is insane. Health care costs and food prices are surging. Trump’s response is we’re going to run another country. Batshit crazy,” said Lieu.
