Kim Condemns U.S. Strikes on Venezuela and Capture of President Maduro
Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) released the following statement in response to U.S. forces launching attacks to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro:
"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress. Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.
"This strike doesn't represent strength. It's not sound foreign policy. It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government. This will further damage our reputation – already hurt by Trump’s policies around the world – and only isolate us in a time when we need our friends and allies more than ever.”
We can now bring you some comments from US Attorney General Pam Bondi who says that Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
Maduro, she says, has been charged with "Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States".
"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," Bondi adds but does not say what his wife has been charged with.
"A huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers," she adds.
Since early this morning, BBC Verify have been working through a number of videos showing explosions, fire and smoke in various locations around Caracas to identify which sites have been targeted.
So far, we have confirmed four locations.
- Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base aka La Carlota - footage filmed at a distance shows two plumes of smoke and an explosion close to this military airfield in Caracas
- Port La Guaira - Caracas' main conduit to the Caribbean Sea, located in Miranda state. Footage filmed nearby shows several plumes of smoke rising into the air, and at least one fire burning
- Higuerote Airport – also located in Miranda state, just east of Caracas. Footage filmed from two angles shows fire and repeated flashes on the ground, a possible indication of secondary explosions
- Fuerte Tiuna - The Getty news agency has released images of fire burning in the direction and damage to vehicles at this key military facility in Caracas. Nasa satellites also detected heat signatures in the area at around the time that the US strikes took place
From The Guardian:
"The overthrow and reported capture by invading US forces of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s hardline socialist president, will send a shiver of fear and consternation around the world. The coup is illegal, unprovoked and regionally and globally destabilising. It upends international norms, ignores sovereign territorial rights, and potentially creates an anarchic situation inside Venezuela itself."
