Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s Illegal War in Venezuela

Donald Trump just launched an illegal military assault on Venezuela — without Congress, without public debate, and without constitutional authority.

Early Saturday morning, U.S. forces carried out strikes and covert operations inside Venezuela, triggering explosions, fear, and global outrage. Reports indicate that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were kidnapped during the operation, and civilians have reportedly been killed in the chaos that followed. In public remarks afterward, Trump went even further — declaring that the United States is going to “run Venezuela for the time being.”

Members of Congress have already said what the Constitution makes clear: the president does not have the power to start a war on his own. Only Congress can authorize hostilities. Trump ignored that law on purpose, acting first and daring lawmakers to respond later — after lives were already lost.

Lawmakers must pass a War Powers Resolution requiring the Trump administration to immediately cease all hostilities within or against Venezuela. Without decisive action, Trump will treat silence as permission to escalate even further — and to entrench U.S. control over another nation by force.

Trump has followed this playbook before, bypassing Congress and concentrating power in the White House while treating war like a political tool. If lawmakers fail to respond forcefully now, it will set a dangerous precedent: that any president can launch military attacks, kidnap foreign leaders, claim control over a foreign country, and kill civilians without legal approval or democratic accountability.

Trump has also made his motive explicit. He has openly discussed exploiting Venezuela’s massive oil reserves, framing U.S. control as a business opportunity rather than a humanitarian or defensive necessity. That makes this assault even more dangerous: a military attack launched not in self-defense, but in pursuit of resource control.

A War Powers Resolution has real force. It would legally require the administration to stop military operations and prohibit further action unless Congress explicitly authorizes it. 

Tell Congress to do its job. Pass a War Powers Resolution requiring the Trump administration to immediately cease all hostilities within or against Venezuela. Stop this illegal war now.