Massachusetts lawmakers have taken to social media in reaction to the Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, with some condemning Maduro’s authoritarian rule while also questioning the legality, cost, and oversight of the Trump administration’s military action.
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan said Maduro’s record of repression does not justify bypassing Congress or placing U.S. service members at risk.
“Maduro is a dictator whose brutal, antidemocratic rule has brought immense suffering to the Venezuelan people. His repression and corruption are well documented and deserve condemnation,” Trahan said. “Acknowledging that reality does not justify the Trump administration bypassing Congress, putting our brave service men and women in harm’s way, or spending billions of taxpayer dollars on regime change in South America.”
Trahan also criticized the administration’s priorities, arguing the operation diverts resources from domestic challenges. “No amount of conjecture from the Trump administration excuses ignoring the most pressing challenges facing hardworking families here at home,” she said, citing rising costs for health care, groceries, and utilities.
Trahan called for immediate congressional oversight, adding, “Congress must be briefed immediately on the legal justification for this attack, the cost to American taxpayers, and the administration’s strategy and path forward in Venezuela and across the region.”
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said the strike “is unconstitutional and threatens to drag the U.S. into further conflicts in the region.”
President Trump’s unilateral military action to attack another country and seize Maduro — no matter how terrible a dictator he is — is unconstitutional and threatens to drag the U.S. into further conflicts in the region. What does it mean that the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela, and…
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 3, 2026
U.S. Senator Ed Markey similarly criticized the administration’s approach, calling the action “unjustified” and “unauthorized,” and warning it could endanger U.S. troops and destabilize the region.
Donald Trump had no approval from Congress for this unjustified, unauthorized attack on Venezuela. This is what dictators do. We cannot stand idly by while Donald Trump conducts rogue attacks that put American lives further at risk. pic.twitter.com/EaRp3OEd2x
— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) January 3, 2026
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who served during the Iraq War, called the operation “reckless,” saying, “Congress did not authorize this war. Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States.”
Congress did not authorize this war. Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States. This is reckless, elective regime change risking American lives (Iraq 2.0) with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.
— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) January 3, 2026
Maduro, who has led Venezuela since 2013, presiding over an authoritarian government rooted in the socialist “Chavista” system established by Hugo Chávez, was captured by U.S. military forces in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, and is now in U.S. custody facing federal charges in New York, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses. U.S. prosecutors allege he led the so-called “Cartel of the Suns” to traffic cocaine into the United States for decades, and he is scheduled for arraignment in Manhattan federal court on Jan. 5. Following his removal, Venezuela’s Supreme Court directed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume acting presidential duties, while President Donald Trump said the United States would temporarily oversee a transition.
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, who described Trump’s press conference as “alarming and unhinged,” questioned whether Trump’s statement that he would “run Venezuela” suggested U.S. troops on the ground, and warned such actions would not be welcomed by the Venezuelan people.
Trump's press conference was alarming and unhinged. He says he is going to run Venezuela. Does that mean boots on the ground?
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) January 3, 2026
He says American oil companies will take over oil fields and control all the oil. Does he think that will be welcomed by the Venezuelan people?
He…
McGovern also said that Congress failed to act despite having the opportunity to do so, citing H.Con.Res. 64, a bipartisan resolution he introduced on Dec. 1, 2025, which would have required the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities involving Venezuela unless authorized by Congress. The measure was voted down in the House on Dec. 17, 2025, and McGovern said lawmakers who opposed it would “bear responsibility for whatever happens next.”
Republican leaders in Massachusetts struck a sharply different tone, with Amy Carnevale, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, praising the operation as “landmark leadership by the U.S. in the war on transnational narco-terrorism” and saying President Trump’s actions would finally hold Maduro “accountable for his heinous crimes.”
