Successful Operation to Arrest Nicolas Maduro

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chairman for having this Special Order here tonight and also for the introduction of the special resolution that lays out the justification and why we took out Nicolas Maduro.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong support of the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Nicolas Maduro and his corrupt inner circle have been U.S. law enforcement targets for over 15 years with multiple agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the DEA, and the FBI, working toward his arrest and his prosecution.

In 2020, under the first Trump administration, the United States unsealed a superseding indictment out of the Southern District of New York against Maduro and more than a dozen of his associates, along with offering a $15 million reward for his capture.

The 2020 indictment described how Maduro and his top lieutenants served as leaders of the Cartel de los Soles for over two decades and partnered with known designated foreign terrorist organizations to move, at the time, over 250 tons of cocaine through Venezuela--cocaine that was cultivated, manufactured, and moved through Venezuela.

Then, fast-forward to January 2025. The Biden administration and the Biden Department of Justice, at the time relying on the same indictment from the Trump administration, increased the bounty and reward for Maduro to $25 million. That is the same reward offered for information leading to Osama bin Laden's capture.

Under the second Trump administration, last month, a superseding indictment was unsealed with updated estimates of cocaine smuggling linked to Maduro, now exceeding thousands of tons.

The new indictment highlights other criminal activity directly tied to Maduro, including providing fake travel documents to facilitate drug smuggling under the guise of diplomatic cover and partnerships with the Sinaloa Cartel boss El Chapo.

The bottom line is that Maduro is a thug. He is a dictator. He is an international criminal. That was recognized by the Biden administration and obviously the Trump administration.

The Department of Justice was in charge of this mission. It was their mission, and there were a lot of details that came out after the execution of this mission.

Yet one thing that didn't get covered enough was that there were lawyers who immediately met Maduro when he was brought into United States' custody. He was read his rights. He was given the opportunity to read the indictment before he was brought to the Southern District of New York.

Narcoterrorism is a serious, serious charge. If you look at the allegations in there, Maduro and his associates essentially flooded the United States with thousands and thousands of tons of cocaine.

The other thing that doesn't get mentioned enough is the fact that our adversaries--Iran, China, and Russia-- essentially have used Venezuela for the last 20 years as a base and a platform to spy, threaten and cause chaos in the Western Hemisphere and the United States. That will no longer happen because of the brave work that was executed by our Special Forces on January 3.

I give a lot of credit to the Trump team: Secretary Rubio, Director Ratcliffe, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, General Caine, and obviously President Trump. None of this would have happened without that team that was in place.

Venezuela is going to be a better place without Maduro. The region is going to be better off, and the world will be a better place.

The reality is that Maduro's capture and prosecution will save American lives, and I commend the Trump administration for taking this decisive action.

There are additional targets of Maduro's criminal enterprise who remain at large and now know that the United States will no longer tolerate or turn a blind eye to the transshipment of their cocaine and other drugs across our borders.

I thank Chairman Crawford, and I thank the members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for being here tonight and look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration to make the Western Hemisphere a safer place.

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