Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, shown during an August Cabinet meeting, has offered no public comment on the attack on Venezuela, which involved members of intelligence agencies. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had yet to weigh in on the U.S. operation to remove Nicolás Maduro from power in Caracas as of Saturday night, more than 24 hours since President Trump approved the audacious mission that captured the Venezuelan leader. Her silence on the operation surprised some in the U.S. intelligence community, which laid the groundwork for the mission over several months, and which had assets in harm’s way on the ground in Venezuela as the operation unfolded. It’s a lie.”Outside of government, during Trump’s first term, Gabbard also criticized advocates for regime change in Venezuela, writing in 2019, “It’s about the oil ... again.”“The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela,” Gabbard wrote at the time. “We don’t want other countries to choose our leaders,” she added, “so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.”

Source: Los Angeles Times January 04, 2026 20:16 UTC