Republicans rally around Trump after Maduro capture as Democrats cry foul over its legality

“It is in America’s interest to bring justice to Maduro, an illegitimate narcoterrorist dictator with American blood on his hands,” Graham wrote Saturday on social media. “To President Trump and his team, you should take great pride in setting in motion the liberation of Venezuela.”

TRUMP FIRST YEAR REPORT CARD: A- PROMISE KEEPER OR ‘NIGHTMARE’ FAILURE

Graham’s message was amplified by the likes of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who emphasized how he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and reminded the public that Maduro was indicted in the U.S. almost six years ago for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.

“I just spoke to @SecRubio, who confirmed that Maduro is in U.S. custody and will face justice for his crimes against our citizens,” Cotton wrote.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) similarly shared his own conversation with Rubio, adding the secretary told him “the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.”

TRUMP WARNS OF JANUARY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN OVER OBAMACARE

“This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Lee wrote.

Regardless, Democratic reaction has focused on the legality of the operation, conducted overnight in Caracas by Delta Force, the Army’s most elite unit, and confirmed by Trump on social media.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who was also taken in the raid, were indicted in the Southern District of New York in 2020, with Maduro charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the U.S.

TRUMP ADVISES THAT ANYONE BURNING AMERICAN FLAG WILL BE IMPRISONED FOR A YEAR

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) reiterated that Trump had “no authority to strike Venezuela, no strategy for a democratic transition, and no credibility that he won’t just pardon the criminal Maduro like he did the Honduran president.”

“After voting No in December, Republicans in Congress must now join Democrats to grab hold the steering wheel of Venezuela policy to prevent this capture from spiraling into a blood for oil war,” Auchincloss wrote.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) added that Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told senators that Trump was not pursuing regime change in Venezuela.

“I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress,” Kim wrote. “Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who represents many Venezuelan ex-patriots in South Florida, conceded Maduro’s capture is “welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule.”

MADURO ‘CAPTURED’ AND TAKEN OUT OF VENEZUELA AFTER US MILITARY OPERATION IN CARACAS: TRUMP

But Wasserman Schultz warned that “cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows” before encouraging Venezuelans “to seat their true, democratically elected president, Edmundo González.”

“I’ll demand answers as to why Congress and the American people were bypassed in this effort,” she wrote. “The absence of congressional involvement prior to this action risks the continuation of the illegitimate Venezuelan regime.”