On November 2, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that land strikes in Venezuela would require the approval of Congress. Just two months later, though, the Trump administration has done what it previously indicated it couldn’t. Shifting justificationsThat’s because the Trump administration has taken remarkably little care to offer a consistent set of justifications or a legal framework for the attack. President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro participates in a civic-military rally in Caracas, Venezuela, on November 25, 2025. Initially, Trump threatened land strikes inside Venezuela to target drug traffickers – this despite Venezuela being an apparently somewhat small player in the drug-trafficking game.

Source: CNN January 03, 2026 21:01 UTC