Secret memo, public strikes: Trump's Venezuela gambit tests war powers

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MS NOW/MSNBC News

Jan. 3, 2026, 6:49 AM EST


The Trump administration’s months-long campaign against Venezuela culminated Saturday in a series of strikes in Caracas and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro — an extraordinary escalation that makes the administration’s refusal to publicly explain its legal justification for military involvement even more urgent.

President Donald Trump announced the operation in a 4:21 a.m. Truth Social post, revealing that U.S. forces had seized Maduro and flown him out of the country to face criminal charges in the United States. The action, which Trump did not seek congressional authorization for, represents the most aggressive use of military force against a foreign head of state in a generation.

For months, Trump has escalated military strikes targeting boats emanating from Venezuela, and warned of potential ground operations in the country — a threat that became more pressing following a drone strike on a dockyard that, unlike the boat strikes, took place on Venezuelan land.

The administration has cited a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo to justify strikes against 35 vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. But the memo — whose existence has been reported by the Washington Post, but not independently verified by MS NOW — and its arguments remain classified, leaving Congress and the public without clarity about the administration’s legal reasoning.

Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/venezuela-strikes-legal-justification-trump

[choie]

1. It doesn't test the war powers act

The act is dead. Has been since at least 2003. This is what happens when there’s no accountability.

[EX500rider]

4. The War Powers Act only requires:

It requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops into hostilities, and forces termination of deployment within 60-90 days unless Congress authorizes the action

[SergeStorms]

2. There's no reason.....

for the House of Representatives or the Senate to return from recess. It appears they're no longer needed for anything.

[Bayard]

3. Whoa.....

Now he's going to just kidnap heads of state he doesn't like, or that he wants what they have. Who's next? What U.S. law will Maduro be charged with?

I think the rest of the world should step in and kidnap trump! He's completely insane, and carrying the nuclear football.