Proposal to restrict Trump operations in Venezuela advances

According to information from broadcaster NBC, the measure stipulates that such actions can only be carried out if there is prior approval from Congress.

The operation in which dictator Nicolás Maduro was captured last Saturday (3) angered the Democratic opposition and some Republicans, as it was not submitted to the Legislature. Trump has stated that new attacks could occur if the new Venezuelan regime does not “cooperate” with the United States.

The measure was introduced by Democratic Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff and Chuck Schumer and Republican Rand Paul.

According to CNN, before this Thursday’s vote, Paul said that this is not a debate “about good or bad, bad or good”, in reference to Maduro.

“The question is who has the power to take the country to war,” he claimed. “The Constitution was very clear and divides war into two aspects. One is the declaration or initiation of war, a power that was given to Congress, and the execution of the war, the decision-making about the war, was the responsibility of the president.”

Five Republican senators voted in favor of the measure going to plenary, leaving the score at 52 votes in favor and 47 against. The proposal itself should be voted on next week. However, even if it is approved, there is a good chance it will be rejected in the House of Representatives, where Republicans also have a majority.

If it passes the lower house, the measure goes to Trump, who could veto it. The Republican government has claimed that the actions in Venezuela are specific and not a war and, therefore, there would be no need for Congressional approval.

After Thursday’s vote, Trump wrote on the Truth Social network that the Republicans who supported the measure “should never be elected again” and said that the War Powers Act of 1973, which stipulated Congressional approval for the start of armed conflicts, “is unconstitutional, in total violation of Article II of the Constitution, as all presidents and their respective Departments of Justice have determined before me.”

“This vote seriously harms the self-defense and national security of the United States by curtailing the President’s authority as commander in chief,” Trump said.

“In any case, a more important vote in the Senate will take place next week on this same issue,” he added, referring to the vote on the proposal itself in plenary.