Donald Trump has been increasing the pressure against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Earlier this month, Trump told him that the clock was ticking, then he offered him an ultimatum to leave his country, or else.
Now reports are breaking that fighter jets have been deployed to the Gulf of Venezuela, as Congress is scrambling to stop Trump from starting a war without its approval.
On Dec. 1, it was reported that Trump and Maduro had a phone call to discuss an offer of protection to help the Venezuelan leader leave the country.
Evacuation protections were reportedly offered to Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son, but only if he would agree to resign as president of Venezuela.
The discussion, however, reportedly ended when Maduro asked for "global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed, and that was rejected."
The report continued, "Second, they asked to retain control of the armed forces -- similar to what happened in Nicaragua in ’91 with Violeta Chamorro. In return, they would allow free elections."
On Dec. 9, an interview with Politico emerged in which Trump claimed that Nicolás Maduro’s “days are numbered.”
When Trump was asked how far he would go to remove Maduro from power, the president declined to give any details. Still, his comments did get the attention of members of Congress, who are now trying to block Trump from starting a war without congressional approval.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was among a handful of Republicans who joined Democrats in pushing a “war powers resolution” to block Trump from starting another “forever war."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) is leading that effort, posting, "The Constitution gives Congress -- and only Congres -- the power to declare war. Trump’s illegal boat strikes and threats of land invasion in Venezuela are a clear overreach of power. I filed a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to stop Trump from starting another forever war.”
Whether Trump will treat congressional concerns seriously or not remains to be seen, but the law is pretty clear on this front. If Trump does start a war to force regime change, there would likely be an immediate move to impeach him, as there is significant pushback emerging from both sides of the aisle.
Trump does not appear all that worried, however, as he has now moved fighter jets to the Gulf of Venezuela, where warships have already been positioned. When asked, Department of Defense officials have stated that these were merely “routine” training flights, but they appear to be more of a warning to Maduro that Trump is very serious in his threat.
Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, believes the United States could end any real maritime threat by Venezuela within a day, which would then open the door for a ground assault, if needed.
Trump really has to be careful here because, as much as many Republicans and Democrats agree that Maduro needs to go, the president cannot just start a war on his own. Congress must approve such actions, or he will be ousted from office. The only real question then is whether enough Democrats would support the move to oust Maduro or if they would resist it simply because it is Trump calling the shots.
