Ex-VP Harris rejects Trump’s Venezuela intervention

Former Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela early Sunday, characterising the capture of Nicolás Maduro as a reckless escalation that prioritises “oil and ego” over American security.

In a statement posted to X, Harris warned that the overnight strikes and subsequent extraction of the Venezuelan leader represent an unlawful return to a failed era of regime-change conflicts.

“The brutal nature of the Maduro regime does not grant the executive branch a ‘blank check’ to bypass legal norms or ignore the sovereignty of international law,” Harris argued.

She asserted that the administration’s actions were both unlawful and unwise, drawing direct parallels to past foreign policy disasters.

According to Harris, these wars for regime change or oil are frequently sold to the public as displays of national strength but “inevitably devolve into chaos, leaving American families to pay the ultimate price.”

The statement specifically challenged the White House’s justification for the mission, which officials have framed as a targeted strike against a narco-terrorist network.

Harris rejected this narrative, claiming the American people are “tired of being lied to” and that the operation is not about drugs or democracy.

Instead, she alleged the intervention is driven by oil interests and a desire by President Trump to “play the role of a regional strongman.”

Harris further pointed to perceived inconsistencies in the administration’s strategy, noting that the President has sidelined Venezuela’s legitimate democratic opposition while reportedly pursuing deals with Maduro’s former associates.

“How can this administration claim to care about the rule of law while simultaneously pardoning convicted drug traffickers at home and ignoring the democratic voices of the Venezuelan people?” Harris questioned.

The former Vice President concluded by highlighting the domestic and human costs of the operation, noting that the President is putting U.S. troops at risk and “spending billions of dollars without a clear exit plan or legal authority.”

Harris called for a shift in leadership priorities, urging a focus on lowering costs for working families and strengthening global alliances rather than pursuing destabilising military interventions that “offer no tangible benefit to the American people.”

By framing the intervention as “a movie we’ve seen before,” Harris is tapping into public fatigue with long-term foreign conflicts.

Her critique specifically highlights a perceived contradiction: that the administration is sidelining the “legitimate opposition” in Venezuela while simultaneously claiming to fight for democracy.(AFP)