The Trump administration’s months-long campaign against Venezuela culminated Saturday in a series of strikes in Caracas and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro — an extraordinary escalation that makes the administration’s refusal to publicly explain its legal justification for military involvement even more urgent.
President Donald Trump announced the operation in a 4:21 a.m. Truth Social post, revealing that U.S. forces had seized Maduro and flown him out of the country to face criminal charges in the United States. The action, which Trump did not seek congressional authorization for, represents the most aggressive use of military force against a foreign head of state in a generation.
For months, Trump has escalated military strikes targeting boats emanating from Venezuela, and warned of potential ground operations in the country — a threat that became more pressing following a drone strike on a dockyard that, unlike the boat strikes, took place on Venezuelan land.
The administration has cited a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo to justify strikes against 35 vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. But the memo — whose existence has been reported by the Washington Post, but not independently verified by MS NOW — and its arguments remain classified, leaving Congress and the public without clarity about the administration’s legal reasoning.
A White House official insisted to MS NOW that all boat strikes have been conducted in international waters and in full compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. “In each case, the vessel was assessed by the U.S. intelligence community to be affiliated with a designated terrorist organization engaged at that time in trafficking illicit drugs, which could ultimately be used to kill Americans,” the official said. They did not address the strike on the dock facility, which took place in Venezuelan territory.
The administration uses the term “narcoterrorists” to refer to drug smugglers targeted in the strikes, and in doing so, implicitly likens them to U.S. adversaries in the War on Terror. But unlike a group like al Qaeda, drug smugglers are not driven by a religious, ideological or political goal; their aim is to make money rather than wage war with the U.S.
“It seems very hard to believe that the U.S. is actually engaged in armed conflict with these unspecified groups,” said Brian Finucane, a former State Department legal adviser who focused on the use of military force. He noted that some groups allegedly targeted, including the Tren de Aragua gang, “aren’t capable of being in an armed conflict with the United States.”
Unlike the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that prompted the authorization for the use of military force against terrorist groups, there has been no physical attack on the United States by Venezuelan actors. “The administration claims to be trying to address what is essentially a public health or law enforcement problem with military tools,” Finucane said.
Even covert CIA operations require notification to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, though under “extraordinary circumstances” a president can limit notification to senior congressional leadership. It is unclear whether the Trump administration has done so.
“The legal basis for the strike inside Venezuela is very murky, including because covert action is used when the U.S. government intends to keep its hand hidden, not boast about it publicly,” said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia Law professor specializing in constitutional war powers.
Saturday’s operation raised those concerns to a new level. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican and Trump ally, noted on X that there had been no congressional approval or authorization for the use of military force prior to the action. Lee said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him Maduro had been arrested “by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States,” and that the military action “was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant” — falling under the president’s “inherent authority” under Article II of the Constitution to protect American personnel.
Though Congress repealed the 2002 Iraq war Authorization for the Use of Military Force in the recently signed defense spending bill, the repeal is unlikely to constrain executive power significantly. Most administrations have relied instead on the broader 2001 AUMF targeting terrorist organizations — a framework now being invoked for operations in Venezuela.
Earlier this month, the House narrowly rejected a war powers resolution that would have directed “the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.” In response to the CIA’s drone strike on the Venezuelan dockyard, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the bill’s sponsor, described the actions as “illegal hostilities” and reiterated his view that the “American People don’t want another endless war over oil.” The debate over those resolutions took on new urgency Saturday. “No matter the outcome, we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and Iraq war veteran, said on X following news of the strikes in Caracas. Similar resolutions have stalled in the Senate, where the 60-vote threshold will face an even steeper climb — but the latest land action could be a tipping point. “The illegality of Trump’s insane war in Venezuela is out of control,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, posted on X on Dec. 30. “Remember, this has NOTHING to do with stopping drugs from entering America. Venezuela produces cocaine bound for Europe. This is war mongering distraction.” In a statement on Friday, the Trump administration stood by its military and CIA actions, both at sea and on land. “On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to take on the cartels — and he has taken unprecedented action to stop the scourge of narcoterrorism that has resulted in the needless deaths of innocent Americans,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told MS NOW. “All of these decisive strikes have been against designated narcoterrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores, and the president will continue to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country.” The administration has not yet explained what legal authority it relied on for Saturday’s operation to capture Maduro, or whether it notified congressional leadership before the strike.
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C. Recommended
