Montana delegation supports Venezuela operation, silent on legality

Members of Montana’s all-Republican delegation were quick to show their support of America’s operation on Venezuela and the capture of its president on Jan. 3.  

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3 that the U.S. “carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela” and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. He said in a news conference that day that the U.S. would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”

Maduro and his wife were arraigned in federal court in New York on Monday, where they pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. At the hearing, Maduro told the judge he was “kidnapped.”

All four Republicans in Montana’s federal delegation applauded the action by Trump through social media posts.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines praised the president, military and law enforcement on X “for helping bring indicted narco-terrorist Maduro to justice.”

U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy wrote on X that “the American people and the Western hemisphere are safer as a result of this operation.”

U.S. Rep. Troy Downing called Venezuela “a fake narco state” and Maduro “a complicit narco operator.”

“This morning’s targeted operation put the world on notice that the United States will respond with force to criminals and adversaries threatening the safety and welfare of Americans,” he wrote in a Jan. 3 X post. 

And U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke defended the action, writing on X that “Maduro and his illicit drug network is responsible for killing thousands and represents a clear and present danger to America and her allies.”

Top congressional Democrats condemned the attack, saying it raised constitutional questions. The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. When asked in a Jan. 3 press conference whether members of Congress were notified ahead of the attack, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “This was not the kind of mission that you can do Congressional notification on.” Notification in advance of the attack, he added, “endangers the mission.”

Several legal experts told The Guardian and BBC that the attack violated international law, which prohibits United Nations Charter members from using force against other states, with exceptions for self-defense or gaining UN Security Council approval. 

In the two days since the attack, Trump has suggested the U.S. could take similar action in Colombia, Cuba and Greenland. 

When asked by Montana Free Press on Monday whether the attack on Venezuela was legal, Zinke, Daines and Sheehy did not respond by deadline. They also did not respond to a question about why congressional approval was not needed in this instance. And they did not answer a question about what the attack in Venezuela could mean for other places, including Colombia, Cuba and Greenland, that Trump has suggested the United States could take action against. Downing declined to offer comment via a spokesperson. 

In a Jan. 3 post on X, Zinke wrote that Trump acted “well within his Article 1 & 2 powers to take decisive military action.” Article I of the Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. Article II outlines the powers of the president, which include overseeing the military. When asked to elaborate on that post, Zinke did not respond by deadline.