RELEASE: REP. HILL STATEMENT ON U.S. MILITARY OPERATION IN VENEZUELA

"I support President Trump's decisive action to return democracy to Venezuela and end the illegitimate narco-state. The extraction of drug kingpin Nicolás Maduro and his wife will save American lives and end repression of the Venezuelan people. The Venezuelan indicted and illegitimate leader and strongman, Nicolás Maduro, and his spouse will stand trial in the United States for their crimes so justice can be served.

"For two decades, the Chávez-Maduro authoritarian governments have terrorized and impoverished the Venezuelan people and exported drugs and criminals throughout the Western Hemisphere, including to the United States. They have disrupted global energy markets and offered the Russians, Iranians, and Chinese a strategic base of operations in America's backyard, a clear violation of the Monroe Doctrine.

"Like President Bush's 1989 intervention in Panama to remove Manuel Noriega, Maduro was indicted by the United States in 2020 for drug trafficking and its related threats to regional security.

"In 2024, the Venezuelan people rejected Maduro at the ballot box in an overwhelming vote. International election observers' tally sheets noted that Edmundo González Urrutia won by a large margin, well over two-thirds of the vote. Neighboring nations and the Organization of American States (OAS), along with the U.S. and our allies, have condemned Maduro's election theft and declared that he was not a legitimate leader of Venezuela.

"After decades of ambivalence, President Trump is reasserting American leadership in the Western Hemisphere and our long-standing principal foreign policy tenet of the Monroe Doctrine. He is also protecting global energy markets and drawing a line to defend the United States from an avalanche of human trafficking and mass murder driven by illegal drug trafficking.

"I commend the professionalism and courage of the brave men and women of our military who successfully carried out this mission to bring an indicted narco-leader to justice.

"As chair of the House Financial Services Committee and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I look forward to briefings next week from the administration on how they will work with the Venezuelans to ensure a timely, appropriate transition to a democratically elected and stable government."