WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01) spoke on the House floor in opposition to Democrats’ misguided, illogical War Powers Resolution in reference to a law enforcement mission to execute an arrest warrant on illegitimate Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

View the floor speech here or below.

THE U.S. IS NOT AT WAR WITH VENEZUELA: “Mr. Speaker, make no mistake about it, the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro is a murderer, an autocrat, a narco-terrorist, and a thug who has oppressed his people, stolen elections, and turned a once prosperous and free country into a desperate nation that millions have fled. And most importantly for the action the United States took against him on January 3^rd, he is a criminal – an indicted fugitive from U.S. justice.”

DEMOCRAT HYPOCRISY ON FULL DISPLAY: “My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have demanded Maduro’s removal for years, after the stolen 2024 election, the fraudulent 2018 election, and the Constituent Assembly power grab in 2017…  And then there is Democrat-sponsored H.R. 5670 of the 118th Congress that succinctly called for ‘an end to the usurpation of presidential authorities by Nicolás Maduro.” 

LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS: “Operation Absolute Resolve was a masterfully, meticulously planned law enforcement operation, supported by the U.S. military. I don’t know how much clearer we must be with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. But the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela. None of the actions taken by the Trump administration to execute an arrest warrant on a criminal constitutes war.”

CONTINUED CONFIRMATION NO TROOPS ON THE GROUND: “Additionally, Secretary Rubio confirmed again to Congress on January 14 that ‘there are currently no U.S. troops in Venezuela’ and that the introduction of U.S. Armed Forces into future hostilities will be undertaken consistent with notifications of the War Powers Resolution if required.”

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