In the News

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado politicians are responding after President Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife during a “large scale” strike in the country early Saturday morning.

Congressman Jason Crow, D-Colo., called for Congress to be given an “immediate briefing” on the strategy used by the Trump administration.

“Donald Trump has already done incalculable damage to America’s reputation. We have to prevent this from spiraling into another nation-building disaster,” Crow said in a statement.

Crow, who called Maduro a “brutal dictator,” also accused the Trump administration of “repeatedly” lying to Congress and the American people about Venezuela, noting officials testified “over and over” that the issues with the country was not about regime change.

“It’s true that Maduro is a brutal dictator. It’s also true that not every problem is ours to fix. But now this one is,” Crow said.

The capture of Maduro also elicited a response from Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Colo., who said that while he was “certainly an illegitimate leader,” that the United States “does not have the authority to unilaterally invade another country, capture its leader and his wife, and haul them to the United States.”

“After repeated assurances from this administration that it was not pursuing regime change, today’s military action calls into question the credibility of those who made those claims,” DeGette said.

DeGette noted that Congress “holds the sole power to declare war and authorize military force,” and asked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to “immediately reconvene Congress to address this unconstitutional and destabilizing abuse of power.”

“Even if Donald Trump believes that Venezuela is a threat to the United States, he has the Constitutional obligation to present his case to Congress and obtain war powers authority before pursuing a strike like the one carried out last night in Venezuela,” DeGette said.

Other Colorado politicians, including Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo. and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., also issued responses to Maduro’s capture.

Polis said, in part: “Today is a moment to celebrate the ouster of the brutal socialist dictator of Venezuela, who has cruelly impoverished this once-prosperous country that sits on greater oil wealth than Saudi Arabia.  I join our fellow Coloradans who have suffered so severely from this thug in calling for a democratic Venezuela where freedom and opportunity can again flourish.”

In a more critical part of his response, Polis also said it “is not clear at all what the plan actually is, or even who is in charge,” and that he was “troubled by the lack of Congressional oversight and engagement up to this point.” Polis’ full response can be read here.

Neguse said: “Blatantly unconstitutional. There is no dispute that Maduro is a brutal dictator — but only Congress has the power to declare war. If Congress does not begin reasserting itself — immediately — our constitutional order will be permanently transformed.”

Hickenlooper said: “In disregard for the Constitution, President Trump launched a war in Venezuela without congressional authorization. A president pursuing regime change abroad creates an unnecessary conflict and puts American service members directly in harm’s way. American families are already struggling. This escalation shows that the President is willing to go great lengths to distract from the serious problems not being addressed here at home.”

Crank said: “Maduro is being brought to justice to answer for the terrorism and drug crimes he has committed against the United States. @POTUS is doing a tremendous job at ensuring America is safer from foreign drug lords who wish to inflict harm on our citizens.”

Pettersen said: “While Maduro is an illegitimate and brutal leader, Trump absolutely should not be dragging us into a war with Venezuela. Sending U.S. forces into Venezuela to snatch a foreign leader in the middle of the night is illegal and unconstitutional. Only Congress has the power to declare war – not one unhinged president. We need immediate answers from this administration. The American people deserve transparency.”

Bennet said, in part: “As I have long said, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate, brutal leader who lost, and then stole, the 2024 elections. Nevertheless, as a member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, I have seen no evidence justifying the administration acting alone without Congressional authorization. I certainly have seen no justification for putting U.S. troops on the ground to ‘run the country’ or rebuild and exploit Venezuela’s oil infrastructure for our own economic purposes.”

The capture of Maduro and his wife has reportedly polarized leaders around the world, with some crying foul and others welcoming the move.

Trump, for his part, reportedly called the capture a major success and told The New York Times shortly after U.S. forces were cleared from Venezuelan airspace that it was “a brilliant operation, actually.”

Trump, in an interview Saturday morning, reportedly also said the United States will be involved in deciding who will be running Venezuela going forward.