McGovern Statement on Military Intervention in Venezuela

Nicolás Maduro is a brutal dictator with a horrific human rights record who used force to cling to power after losing an election. It is entirely possible to hate Maduro and also to strongly condemn the decision to remove him by force. President Trump did not seek congressional authorization for this use of force, and Congress did not grant it. Under our Constitution and the law, that makes this action illegal.

Our policy towards Venezuela must be centered on the human rights, democratic freedoms and well-being of the people of Venezuela - all the people, not just any favored faction. They have suffered tremendously under decades of repression by their own government, and deprivations made worse by broad-based U.S. economic sanctions. Genuinely including the Venezuelan people, across all ethnic and socio-economic categories, in what comes next is essential.

U.S. military-induced regime change creates severe unintended consequences, as evidenced in Iraq. There is always more including violence and civilian harm than leaders promise. Now Trump says the U.S. will "run the country." He has not consulted Congress on this plan. He has not been honest with the American public about the costs, either financial or boots on the ground. And Trump is insulting the Venezuelan people by thinking he knows better than them how to chart their future.

Like Bush and Cheney a quarter century ago, President Trump has based this action on oil. He has spoken of Venezuela's oil reserves as "our oil" which is the opposite of putting the Venezuelan people first.

If Maduro is to stand trial, it would be best done by an international tribunal. The International Criminal Court has an ongoing investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the Venezuelan government under Nicolás Maduro, which is supported by many other governments in the Western Hemisphere. Holding Maduro accountable under an international justice mechanism would add legitimacy in the eyes of the global community in a way that a trial in a U.S. court may not. Trying Maduro solely on narcotics charges would risk denying the Venezuelan people the accountability-based justice they seek for massive human rights violations against them.

President Trump has set a precedent of using superior military force to remove the leader of a country he doesn't like for a reason of his choosing. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping must be thinking how they can achieve their own ambitions by copying Donald Trump.