Pelosi Statement on Use of U.S. Military Force in Venezuela

"Venezuela is ruled by an illegitimate regime, but the Trump Administration has not made the case that an urgent threat to America's national security existed to justify the use of U.S. military force. President Trump has made no secret of his intentions to effectively abolish the Congress, and that pattern continues today with his flagrant disregard for the Article One war powers of Congress which is essential to our constitutional system of checks and balances.

"If the President grounds his actions on the basis of drug trafficking charges, it is entirely hypocritical in light of his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández who was responsible for bringing more than 400 tons of cocaine in the United States in order to 'shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.' The Administration says Maduro will be tried for drug trafficking in a U.S. court - but Hernández was convicted of the same crimes by an American jury and Trump pardoned him.

"Congress must be fully and immediately briefed on the strikes and regime change in Venezuela, the objectives and extent of this operation, and how the Administration intends to prevent further regional fallout."