In early January, the United States conducted a special operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, who is now facing trial in a US court. During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the operation, describing it as lawful and strategically necessary. Rubio argued that the mission did not constitute an act of war under the US Constitution and that Maduro’s continued rule posed a major strategic risk to the United States.

Several senators, including Republican Rand Paul, opposed the operation. Paul questioned what the US response would be if a similar action were taken against an American president, such as Donald Trump, and whether such an act would be considered a declaration of war. He asserted that if a foreign power abducted a US president, he would support war despite being anti-war.

The exchange between Rubio and Paul highlighted growing divisions within Congress over the use of military force and regime-change strategies abroad, reflecting deepening debate on the limits of executive power in foreign interventions.