Senior Democrats spoke to media after the classified briefing, accusing US President Donald Trump and his senior officials of lying about the reasoning for the military action and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the briefing posed more questions than it had answered, including whether the White House would avoid taking similar actions against other countries in the future.
“I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries,” Schumer said after the briefing, CNN reported.
“And in conclusion, when the United States engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation building, it always ends up hurting the United States,” he added.
“I walked away from the briefing confident it would,” Mast commented.
Senior Republicans have defended Trump’s decisions and the seizure of Maduro, who pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism in New York federal court Tuesday, insisting that Trump didn’t plan to occupy or rule Venezuela.
“We do not have armed forces in Venezuela and we are not occupying that country,” Republican House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson said.
Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Brian Mast also denied the Trump administration’s plan to nation-build in Venezuela.
When questioned by reporters about how he would assure the public that the United States wouldn’t be drawn into a prolonged conflict akin to the 20-year engagement in Afghanistan, Mast responded, “This administration is not one for lengthy wars.”
However, some Democrats and Republicans have criticized Trump, alleging that he is attempting to bypass the constitutional mandate requiring Congressional approval for military actions, except in cases where such actions are brief and limited.
Democratic senator Jeff Merkley criticised Trump’s support for Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim president.
“What it looks like is he wants to keep the dictatorship in the palace, just with the vice president becoming head of government, rather than Maduro,” Merkley said, according to a CNN report.
“He just wants a dictator that will say ‘Yes sir’ when the United States says ‘Do this or do that’ … I think that’s a big problem for us.”
The Republican-controlled Senate has been expected to vote this week on whether to block further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval.
The Republicans insisted the operation over the weekend didn’t require congressional approval due to its short period and its role in law enforcement.
But Democrats and some Republicans have accused Trump of seeking to sidestep the Constitution’s requirement that Congress has to approve any military action needed to defend the United States, unless the action is brief and limited.
Republican Senate majority leader John Thune said there would be more details around how long the US would remain in control of Venezuela in coming days.
— With additional reporting from Reuters
