The Trump administration is facing intensifying scrutiny at home and abroad after a U.S. military operation in Caracas in the early morning hours of January 3.
American armed forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flew them to the United States to face federal criminal charges.
U.S. officials have characterized the mission, described by the Pentagon and multiple news reports as a short, special-operations raid, as a targeted “arrest” action aimed at dismantling what the administration alleges is a narco-trafficking enterprise led by Maduro.
Venezuela’s government and several international voices have denounced it as an unlawful act of aggression and a dangerous precedent for unilateral regime changing operations.
Maduro, 63, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court on January 5, telling the judge he had been “kidnapped” and insisting he remained Venezuela’s president. Flores also pleaded not guilty, and Maduro’s defense signaled a protracted legal fight over what it called a “military abduction.”
In Caracas, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president, as uncertainty spread over what governing arrangements the United States intends to support.
President Donald Trump has publicly said that the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until a “safe” transition, remarks that have fueled bipartisan questions about whether a limited raid is evolving into an open-ended intervention.
However, in televised interviews, Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued Congress’s approval was not required because “this is not an invasion” and the U.S. did not occupy Venezuelan territory. Rubio is framing the action as a discrete law-enforcement operation.
The administration’s central domestic defense is that the president can order limited uses of force without prior congressional authorization when the action is brief and not expected to become a “prolonged” conflict.
Democratic leaders have pushed back, arguing that sending U.S. forces into a sovereign capital to seize a sitting head of state is, in practical terms, an act of war—whatever label the executive branch applies—and triggers Congress’s constitutional role in authorizing hostilities.
A Senate vote is expected as soon as this week on a measure aimed at requiring congressional approval for any further military action related to Venezuela.
Guests:
Katsuo Nishikawa, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for International Engagement and Associate Professor of Political Science at Trinity University.
Tara Van Ho, J.D., Ph.D., is an international law expert now based at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio.
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This episode will be recorded on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
