A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a War Powers Resolution that would block President Trump from attacking Venezuela amid a US bombing campaign against boats in the Caribbean and reports that the administration is preparing to strike Venezuelan territory.
The legislation was introduced by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) and would require congressional authorization before the US went to war with Venezuela.
“I’m extremely troubled that the Trump Administration is considering launching illegal military strikes inside Venezuela without a specific authorization by Congress,” Kaine said in a statement on the bill. “Americans don’t want to send their sons and daughters into more wars—especially wars that carry a serious risk of significant destabilization and massive new waves of migration in our hemisphere.”
Paul said the “American people do not want to be dragged into endless war with Venezuela without public debate or a vote. We ought to defend what the Constitution demands: deliberation before war.”
The resolution was introduced on October 17 and will force a vote within 10 days, meaning it could happen as early as next week. Americans can contact their senators and urge them to support S.J.Res.90.
The bill comes as the US continues escalating its military campaign in the Caribbean by bombing more alleged drug-running boats, and US officials have been clear that the real goal of the military campaign in the Caribbean is the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. President Trump recently confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and that his administration was considering striking Venezuela “by land.”
Earlier this month, the Senate voted on a bill that would have prevented more US strikes on boats without congressional approval, but it failed in a vote of 48-51. Paul was one of only two Republicans who supported the measure, as he has been very critical of the bombing campaign.
Paul said this week that the extrajudicial executions at sea “go against all of our tradition,” arguing that when the US kills someone, “you really need to know someone’s name, at least, you have to accuse them of something.”
The Trump administration has offered no evidence to back up its claims about who it has been bombing and what the boats were carrying. “You have to present evidence,” Paul said. “So all these people have been blown up without us knowing their name, without any evidence of a crime.”
