Graham says Trump ready for Maduro’s fall, will brief Congress on Venezuela strikes
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that President Donald Trump will brief lawmakers about military operations in the Caribbean, as the president eyes land strikes against Venezuela next as part of his crusade against drugs.
Although Trump has said that the at least 10 strikes his administration has launched against alleged drug boats are necessary to put drug traffickers and cartels “on notice,” lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been ramping up pressure for additional oversight and evidence supporting the legality of the strikes.
Trump is poised to brief them once he returns from his trip to Asia that wraps up Thursday, Graham told CBS News Sunday.
“President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia,” Graham said. “So, there will be a congressional briefing about a potential expanding from the sea to the land. I support that idea. But I think he has all the authority he needs.”
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Additionally, Trump is ready for Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro to exit leading the country, according to Graham. When asked about whether a regime change was in motion, Graham answered affirmatively.
“I think President Trump’s made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go,” Graham said Sunday. “That Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco terrorists for too long.”
The Trump administration claims it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state, and instead considers him a leader of a drug cartel. In August, the Trump administration increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, blasting him as “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.”
Trump has signaled for weeks he is considering land operations against Venezuela, and the Pentagon announced Friday that the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford would head to the region.
In response, Maduro accused Trump of “fabricating a new eternal war.”
“They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war,” Maduro said in a national broadcast on Friday.
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The White House did not confirm or deny that Trump would brief lawmakers in response to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. However, a senior administration official told Fox News Digital that it has provided Congress seven separate classified briefings since early September on the matter.
The Trump administration has remained relatively reticent when asked about ousting Maduro, and Trump declined to answer questions from reporters earlier in October when asked if the CIA had the authority to “take out” Maduro.
Meanwhile, lawmakers — including some Republicans — are seeking answers on the strikes. For example, Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution that would bar U.S. armed forces from engaging in “hostilities” against Venezuela.
“The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean,” Schiff said in an Oct. 17 statement.
“In recent weeks, we have seen increasingly concerning movements and reporting that undermine claims that this is merely about stopping drug smugglers,” Schiff said. “Congress has not authorized military force against Venezuela. And we must assert our authority to stop the United States from being dragged — intentionally or accidentally — into full-fledged war in South America.”
Trump has dismissed lawmakers’ concerns about the legality of the strikes, and said Oct. 14 that the alleged drug vessels are “fair game” because they are “loaded up with drugs.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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