Do you give the Trump administration some credit for that?” Welker questioned. Doubling down on his comments, Murphy reiterated that “Maduro is an illegitimate leader” while also calling Russian President Vladimir Putin an illegitimate leader. “So yes, I thought that it was important for America to pursue a diplomatic strategy with our Latin American allies to try to force elections in Venezuela so as to allow the Venezuelan people to move Maduro out of power. I have never supported an invasion of Venezuela. Rodriguez has fiercely defended Maduro’s regime against accusations of drug-trafficking and election-stealing.

Source: Huffington Post January 11, 2026 22:19 UTC