Donald Trump and maga Republicans are responsible for illegally supporting the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping Maduro with his wife

 Echo opinion letter published in the Virginian Pilot newspaper

The recent strike (invasion) against Venezuela, and the forceful removal of President Nicolás Maduro with his wife Celia Flores, by Donald Trump, is a violation of our Constitution. 

Although it is true, Maduro is corrupt and an authoritarian, the fact is, Human Rights Watch describes abuses by rulers violating human rights that occur globally in nearly 100 countries — not just in Venezuela. 

Consider places such as North Korea. If Trump was really concerned about abuses, he would offer Ukraine more support against the Russian war crimes that have been committed.

The decision to use military force is in the hands of the Congress because the consequences will not end with an initial strike. The decision should not be in the hands of Trump, who is using the U.S. military as his own strike force. 

(By the way, the illegal U.S. invasion and kidnapping of Maduro and his wife caused the deaths of 80 people. Reports from Venezuelan officials and media, including The New York Times, state that at least 80 people were killed, including both civilians and military personnel, during the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela.)

Consider his initial use of the National Guard in U.S. cities against citizens, the boat strikes in the Caribbean, the Nigerian airstrikes and bombing Iranian nuclear sites — all without congressional oversight.

As we review responses regarding the illegal Venezuelan strike, the GOP, including the wrong minded Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, praised the operation. ❓ They used the excuse that drugs were arriving in the U.S. from Venezuela and it needed to stop. A small percentage of illegal drugs are traced to Venezuela. (In fact, no illegal drugs have been produced to provide evidence to support this claim.  No drugs were confiscated from any of the destroyed Venezuelan fishing boats sunk at sea, no drugs were reported to be found on the empty Venezuelan oil tankers taken over by the U.S. military, and Maduro and his wife were not in possession of illegal drugs when they were kidnapped.)

The reality is that cocaine arrives from Colombia predominantly by way of Mexico. More than 80% of the chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl come from China and is made into fentanyl in Mexico. Then the drug make is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border.

What Venezuela has is oil. That is what Trump desires. Congress must act to stop his unbridled use of our military. If it is legitimate, then get approval from Congress. The Constitution demands it❗

From Patty Bates, in Virginia Beach, Virginia