Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson called the U.S. military’s recent operation in Venezuela an “incredible success” shortly before voting against a resolution that would require Congress to sign off on further military action in the country.
U.S. air strikes in and around the capital city of Caracas on Saturday killed 100 people including civilians and military personnel, according to Venezuelan officials.
Special forces also captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are being charged in federal court with narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
News with a little more humanity
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
“It’s undeniably good that Maduro is no longer running Venezuela,” Johnson said in an interview with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” Thursday morning. “Maduro was not the legitimate president of Venezuela. He was running Venezuela as a narco-terrorist state.”
Congress was not notified of the operation in advance, which some members of Congress say violated a law called the War Powers Resolution. A new resolution that would require congressional approval before further military action in Venezuela advanced in the Senate by a vote of 52-47 on Thursday.
Johnson joined most of his Republican colleagues in opposing the measure.
“I don’t think there’s a president who has ever recognized the constitutionality of the War Powers Act. It’s never been really argued in front of the Supreme Court,” Johnson said. “Our Constitution gives the President of the United States a great deal of power in terms of dealing with foreign relations and national security. Previous presidents of both parties have utilized that power.”
President Donald Trump said the U.S. will take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. According to a fact sheet from the Energy Department, “Funds (from oil sales) will be disbursed for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the U.S. government,” which Johnson is encouraged by.
“That’s the way we’ll be able to transition Venezuela to a country that is more in line with Western countries and our economies, for the benefit of the Venezuelan people,” Johnson said. “Take the oil, sell it in the open market and deposit it into an account — not the Federal Reserve, but a separate account that will then be used to pay, for example, civil servants in Venezuela.”
The administration has not specified how much of the money from oil sales will go to Venezuela.
President Trump told the New York Times on Wednesday night that the United States would be controlling Venezuela for years to come. But Johnson said he wants to avoid having U.S.troops in Venezuela “at all costs.”
“We can sell that oil for them (and) turn that over to civil society for the benefit of Venezuelan people,” Johnson said. “I think that’s what, in the end, will be successful and not require American troops again.”
When asked about whether he’d support removing other countries’ leaders from power, Johnson said he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary after the military action in Venezuela.
“Other leaders need to stop trafficking drugs into America and killing Americans,” Johnson said. “What we did in Venezuela will hopefully be a real deterrent, and get them to take President Trump at his word that, (if) they continue doing things that are harmful to America and Americans, action may be taken again.”
