By Mark Gardyna, Western Mass News
(WGGB/WSHM) – On Saturday, Representative Richard Neal and Senator Elizabeth Warren released a statement in reaction to the military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of their president Nicolas Maduro. All of them openly condemned the actions in the poverty stricken South American nation.
Senator Warren said in part, “President Trump’s unilateral military action to attack another country and seize Maduro — no matter how terrible a dictator he is — is unconstitutional and threatens to drag the U.S. into further conflicts in the region. What does it mean that the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela, and what will Trump do next around the world? The American people voted for lower costs, not for Trump’s dangerous military adventurism overseas that won’t make the American people safer.”
Congressman Richard Neal went on to express the concern for the welfare of who servicemen and women in potential future deployments to Venezuela, saying, “As we have seen time and again, military operations that are conducted prior to thorough debate and the establishment of long-term goals too often end in prolonged conflict and unnecessary loss of life. Venezuela poses no imminent threat against the United States, yet President Trump is putting the lives of our service members on the line without any clear military objective.”
Congressman Jim McGovern likened the military operation to the the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, saying , “U.S. military-induced regime change creates severe unintended consequences, as evidenced in Iraq. There is always more including violence and civilian harm than leaders promise.”
Senator Edward Markey stated that the Trump Administration will not be able to maintain the Venezuelan infrastructure, alleging mismanagement of domestic economic policy. Saying in part, “Trump’s already failed to manage the American economy, yet he wants to manage Venezuela and its oil infrastructure. And now, Trump broke Venezuela and says he will fix it. This was all about regime change and all about oil. This has nothing to do with our security and everything to do with Trump’s desire to rule with an iron fist.”
