BOISE, Idaho — Tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to escalate as Congress questions the Trump administration’s recent military strikes on what officials described as drug-smuggling boats. Senator Jim Risch spoke with Idaho News 6's Don Nelson about the operation and concerns it could push the U.S. toward war.
When asked whether he would support military action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Risch said President Donald Trump has made his position clear. “The President said he has no intention of going to war against Maduro,” Risch said. “I take him on that.”
Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledged lawmakers are questioning the legality of the strikes and whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated the laws of war by targeting survivors.
Hear more from Sen. Risch regarding the recent strikes —-
“I got my friends on the other side of the aisle, ‘Oh, he shouldn’t be doing this, he doesn’t have the right to do this,’” Risch said. “This man is the commander in chief who took an oath to absolutely protect America.”
ABC News has reported that lawmakers in both parties now support congressional review of the actions.
Nelson also pressed Risch on proof that the targeted boats were operated by drug cartels.
Risch responded by citing U.S. intelligence agencies, “The United States has 18 different Intelligence agencies. We gather information using human intel, spies or people from the other side from overhead from electronic eavesdropping, I guarantee of every one of those 20 boats that Donald Trump sank was loaded with up to 500 million dollars in drugs, excuse me 50 million dollars, in drugs on that boat operated by cartel members who were sending that poison to the United States to kill Americans.”
“I told him personally, Mr. President, thank you on behalf of all Americans who won’t have to bury their children early and will never know what you did, thank you for what you did," Risch continued. "Keep defending America. You are very defensive about the criticism, I can tell. I’m not defensive about it; people are entitled to criticize whoever they want. They couldn't be more wrong on this issue than they are."
