Successful Operation to Arrest Nicolas Maduro

Floor Speech

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Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend President Donald J. Trump for his decisive leadership that restored American strength, put our security first, and reasserted the rule of law on behalf of the American people in our hemisphere.

For years, Venezuela, under Nicolas Maduro, was not a legitimate government. It functioned as a criminal enterprise, enriching corrupt elites, fueling narcoterrorist networks, and exporting disorder throughout the Western Hemisphere.

That criminal activity did not stop at Venezuela's borders. It strengthened cartels, expanded drug trafficking routes, and contributed directly to the fentanyl crisis that is devastating working families across the United States, including in my home State of New York.

Under President Trump, that era of weakness is over. Criminals no longer get a free pass.

Through Operation Absolute Resolve, U.S. forces and law enforcement partners successfully captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both tied to narcotics trafficking, in a carefully planned, coordinated operation, carried out with precision and without a single U.S. casualty.

This is what peace through strength looks like. This was a lawful action. This was an act of justice against an indicted narcotrafficker who believed he could evade accountability while ordinary people paid the price. President Trump proved him wrong.

This operation also demonstrated what strong leadership looks like. Our military, intelligence community, and law enforcement agencies worked seamlessly together, drawing on decades of experience, to deliver accountability.

The administration did not stop there. By cracking down on sanctioned oil shipments and seizing illicit tankers operating in violation of U.S. law, President Trump sent a clear message: Sanctions will be enforced. Criminal profits will be cut off. Rigged systems will be dismantled. When you stop the money, you choke off the trafficking.

Predictably, Democrats have reacted with hysteria, due largely to their acute Trump derangement syndrome and insistence on an America last policy. This is reminiscent of the policies of the Biden administration.

Democrats would rather see America cower to our adversaries than stand up for our people and enforce the Monroe Doctrine, or what we now refer to as the Donroe doctrine. Appeasement never results in effective deterrence.

Democrats' fecklessness has empowered dictators, emboldened traffickers, and left Americans less safe. Peace through strength works, and strong leadership matters.

The mission is stability in the Western Hemisphere and a secure transition in Venezuela that prevents criminals and adversaries from filling a dangerous vacuum. President Trump will continue to lead with strength, accountability, and resolve.

Mr. Speaker, this operation stands for a simple principle: Stand with the rule of law, cut off the money supply, stop the trafficking, always put America first, and the American people will win.

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