WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Ranking Member Chris Coons (D-DE), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member on State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) Brian Schatz (D-HI) issued the following statement after President Trump held a press conference about the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro:
“We strongly condemn President Trump’s announced plans to occupy Venezuela. We have many urgent needs here at home and President Trump’s statement that ‘we are not afraid of boots on the ground’ begs for clarity on the risks he plans to take with the lives of American servicemembers. Having lied to Congress and misled the American people about his goals while spending months preparing to capture Maduro, the administration has to come clean with Congress and our nation about its real plans in Venezuela. The American people deserve answers about what vital interests are at stake and how this advances their security, neither of which this administration has provided.”