(The Center Square) – As events continue to unfold around the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces, state leaders are issuing their own responses.
In the Pennsylvania House, a resolution “opposing unconstitutional military action” has been circulated by Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-Lancaster.
The resolution focuses on President Donald Trump’s orders in Venezuela made without prior congressional approval. Smith-Wade-El is joined by eight other Democrats from across the commonwealth in sponsoring the resolution.
“The power to authorize war belongs to Congress, not the president acting alone,” reads a co-sponsorship memorandum. “The U.S. Constitution is clear that acts of war require approval by the legislative branch, except in cases of immediate self-defense. The president did not seek, and Congress did not grant, such authorization.”
The memo underscores objections voiced around the world over the past weekend in protests and public statements asserting that charges of narco-terrorism are secondary to the goal of gaining control over the country’s oil reserves. Critics have drawn on echoes of military action in Iraq.
“We are gravely concerned with the cost to human life, our moral standing as a nation, and our economic futures, all leveraged in favor of violating the sovereignty of a foreign nation as an apparent pretense for seeking control of its natural resources,” the memo continued.
The Center Square was unable to reach Smith-Wade-El for further comment.
Stock in U.S. oil companies jumped Monday following Trump’s weekend statements outlining plans to take over Venezuela’s oil reserves and infrastructure.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has emphasized that the war being waged is with “drug trafficking organizations” as opposed to the sovereign state of Venezuela. The U.S. does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela following contested elections. These distinctions, along with the claim that plans were too sensitive to brief Congress, have placed the capture squarely within legal grey areas.
“Our resolution reaffirms Congress’s exclusive war-making authority, declares that unauthorized military action violates U.S. law, urges the president to seek congressional approval for any continued or future hostilities, and urges Congress to take all necessary and prudent actions to hold the executive branch accountable to its obligations and duties to the American people,” wrote the representatives.
Supporters of the action have pointed to corruption, human rights violations, economic collapse, and the drug trade to justify Maduro’s capture. Many in Venezuela and abroad have celebrated the end of his regime, while the world waits to see what comes next.
Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, have been charged with “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the U.S.”
The pair pleaded not guilty in court in New York Monday.
