Venezuela

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today having just come out of a secure briefing about the arrest of Nicolas Maduro.

Our country has carried out one of the boldest law enforcement operations in decades, and we should be very proud. We should celebrate it and be proud of the men and women in uniform who made sure this was successful. This administration had the courage to do what was right, what needed to be done; and America, Venezuela, and the world are much safer as a result of it.

Operation Absolute Resolve was conducted for one reason: to bring to justice a murderous dictator and an indicted drug trafficker. Maduro is an outlaw, and he is now in custody. The Trump administration indicted him in 2020 on drug trafficking charges. President Trump put a $15 million bounty on him. The Biden administration agreed, and they actually increased that amount to $25 million. Neither the first Trump administration, nor the Biden administration, nor the current administration recognized Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

Now, we are not alone in that view. Many of our allies around the world have taken the same position, hold the same belief. Yet only America had the resolve and the resources to bring Maduro to justice. No American lives were lost, as we learned in our briefing and as we have seen, and it was a textbook example and demonstration of peace through strength. The message to the entire world is clear: If you poison and kill the American people, you are going to be held accountable.

Arresting Maduro also advances America's national security. Maduro's allies and enablers are united in their commitment to undermine our Nation: China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, even Hezbollah. Communist China was buying half a million barrels a day of oil from Venezuela--day after day, after day. In exchange for that oil, the Chinese Communist Party loaned Venezuela over $100 billion. Just hours before his arrest, Maduro was meeting in Caracas with officials of the Chinese Communist Party. This axis of aggression is weaker now because President Trump has taken decisive action, and our men and women in uniform were able to carry it out.

All around the world, people are seeing dictatorships failing. That is why Venezuelans are celebrating in the streets today. It is also why Iranians are uniting today across their country to protest the suppressive dictatorship. They have good reasons to demand their freedom.

Yet, today, there are Democrats in this Chamber--some may come to the floor later today--who are using the arrest of Nicolas Maduro not to advance American interests, no. They are using it to attack President Trump. This week, they are going to force a vote on another War Powers Resolution to tie the hands of the President. Let me be clear about what that resolution does and what it does not do. It does not reassert Congress's powers. It does not make America stronger. It makes America weaker and less safe. It will weaken the President's legitimate constitutional authority.

This body, the U.S. Senate, is being asked whether the President of the United States has the authority to arrest indicted criminals. Of course he does. Democrats want to weaken the President's ability to enforce the law of the land. That is the wrong message to send to hardened drug traffickers and to dictators.

It is interesting because, for years, Democrats were for holding Maduro accountable. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, tweeted in 2019 that ``getting rid of Maduro is good for the United States.'' That is one of the Democrats who are opposing what the President of the United States has done. He called for it in the past.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, who will be on this floor in a few minutes, came to this very floor in 2020 and complained about President Trump, saying President Trump ``hasn't brought an end to the Maduro regime.''

Senator Chris Van Hollen from the Foreign Relations Committee, a Democrat from Maryland, told MSNBC just last year--he said:

[T]he United States needs to work with its partners and allies in the region to ratchet up the pressure [on Venezuela].

Democrats know absolutely that President Trump did the absolute right thing. They won't admit it on this floor. They prefer to play politics instead. Within the last several days, Senator Schumer called arresting Maduro ``reckless.'' What a change and reversal in tune. Senator Van Hollen said it was an illegal ``act of war,'' a complete reversal of his previous positions.

Senator Murphy told CNN on Sunday that Venezuela, he said, is ``not a security threat'' to the United States. He sure viewed it differently in the past. Evidently, they were all for it before they were against it. That is what we see with these Democrats: something they are for, President Trump does it, and now they are against it.

The question I have for Democrats is, Do they no longer think that arresting Maduro is a good thing? They supported it in the past--every one of them.

Arresting Maduro was not partisan or political. It was a professionally executed law enforcement action conducted by a superb team of dedicated military professionals, and I congratulate each and every one of them. Every parent in this country should be happy today about this arrest because now their children will be safer from poisoning and death. This arrest will save thousands of American lives--lives that would have been lost due to Maduro's drug trafficking.

And what are the numbers? Was it 80,000 American lives lost since 2020 as a result of the poison that Maduro has forced into this country? On Saturday, President Trump took bold action, and he took action to protect the citizens of this great country.

We should celebrate the success in Venezuela. We should take great pride in the brave men and women who carried out the successful mission. Republicans are going to continue to stand on the side of safety, security, and America peace through strength.

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