Resolution, to Remove United States Armed Forces From Hostilities with Presidentially Designated Terrorist Organizations in the Western Hemisphere

Floor Speech

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Ms. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, I am here today because I oppose this resolution. It is fundamentally flawed. It is trying to invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which doesn't even apply in the case of Venezuela.

The War Powers Resolution applies when there is active combat with the United States forces. It does not include law enforcement or counternarcotics operations against declared terrorists like Nicolas Maduro, who happens to be the head of a major drug cartel in the Western Hemisphere.

Therefore, we do not need this resolution because what the President is doing is well within the law. The President does not need congressional approval to protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

Let's see what the Constitution says. The Founding Fathers vested in Congress the power to declare war, but they were equally clear that the power to defend the homeland from foreign and domestic threats belongs to the President as Commander in Chief.

Therefore, President Trump does not need congressional permission to kill terrorists at sea who are bringing cocaine and fentanyl to the streets of Miami, New York, or Chicago.

Let's see what international law says. The United States is waging a noninternational armed conflict with Venezuela. What does that mean? Our issue is not with Venezuela as a country but with Nicolas Maduro, the narcotrafficker who hijacked that country after he stole the elections last year. Under the Law of Armed Conflict, we can use military force to stop his drug cartel from flooding the streets of the United States.

According to article 29 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, of which the United States is a member, it says that the countries of the Western Hemisphere may take military action against a threat that endangers the peace of the Americas.

The Maduro regime has destroyed the peace of the whole Western Hemisphere. If not, ask anyone who lives in my district, the city of Miami.

Now let's go back to American history, which says that Maduro is the world's largest drug trafficker. In 2020, he was indicted by a Federal grand jury in this country for pushing hundreds of thousands of tons of cocaine to the streets of the United States.

Back in 1989, we had a very similar experience in Panama with Manuel Noriega. At the time, President Bush took action in Panama to remove Noriega. There was no need for congressional approval, but as Commander in Chief, he did what he needed to do. Today, Panamanians are eternally grateful to the United States.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan ordered United States forces into the islands of Grenada to protect the lives of American citizens. Once again, the President did not ask approval from Congress. Reagan acted swiftly, lawfully, and decisively.

Today, the actions taken against the cartel of the los Soles, headed by Maduro, fall squarely into this same category--operations against nonstate actors and criminal organizations, not a war against a sovereign nation or a legitimate President.

This resolution presented by the Democratic Party would tie President Trump's hands in the fight against drug-trafficking terrorists. Every Venezuelan knows that Maduro is just a thug and a delinquent who has been in the drug-trafficking business for 27 years since he took over the country. They have totally destroyed the most prosperous country in Latin America, Venezuela.

Of course, Congress has the crucial role in authorizing wars, but the President has independent authority to defend the mainland. Panama is thriving. Grenada is thriving.

Once Maduro is gone and order is restored to the country, it will be the most prosperous country in Latin America, having the largest reserves of oil in the world, which will give them enough resources not to depend on the charity of the United States or any other country to fix the destruction that Maduro wrought.

Mr. Speaker, for those reasons, I strongly oppose this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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