New Delhi/Washington–Former US Vice President Kamala Harris has launched a sharp attack on President Donald Trump over the recent US military action in Venezuela, describing it as unlawful, dangerous and motivated by political ambition rather than American national interest.
In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Harris warned that the operation risks destabilising the region while placing American lives and resources in jeopardy. “Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable,” she said, accusing the President of misleading the public.
While acknowledging Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s record, Harris stressed that it did not justify the US action. “That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before — wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price,” she wrote.
Harris also questioned the domestic support for the move, stating that Americans are weary of being misled into overseas interventions. “The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to,” she said.
In one of her most pointed remarks, Harris alleged that the administration’s stated reasons were a smokescreen. “This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman,” she wrote. She further accused the administration of hypocrisy, claiming that if the President truly cared about combating drugs or promoting democracy, he would not pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while engaging with figures close to the Maduro regime.
Warning of long-term consequences, Harris said the President was “putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home.”
She concluded by outlining what she said should be the focus of US leadership, emphasising lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances and putting American citizens first.
Harris’s remarks come amid dramatic developments in Venezuela. In a pre-dawn operation on Saturday, US Delta forces reportedly attacked a Venezuelan army base and captured President Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores, following months of military buildup.
US officials said the two were transported aboard a warship to New York, where federal prosecutors have filed “narco-terrorism” charges. The indictment, made public by US Attorney General Pam Bondi and filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Maduro used state power for more than two decades to facilitate large-scale cocaine trafficking toward the United States.
According to prosecutors, the alleged activities span from around 1999 to 2025 and include charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, firearms offences and related crimes. The indictment also names several co-defendants, including Cilia Flores, Maduro’s son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra and senior officials, alleging that the government relied on military and intelligence institutions to protect drug trafficking routes through the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. (Source: IANS)
