Kaptur Statement On Unauthorized Military Action In Venezuela

Toledo, OH — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), a senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement: 

“Overnight, the United States launched an illegal, large scale military attack against the nation of Venezuela. We have not passed a Congressional authorization to deploy our troops into harm’s way. No legal authority was granted by Congress to install or prop up an interim government of Venezuela.

"Congress were lied to in briefings and the American people were lied to since. As a senior Appropriator who questioned Sec. Pete Hegseth on exactly which DoD accounts were being drained of Billions of dollars to conduct these costly foreign operations south of our border, no answer was forthcoming.

"He replied from 'the general accounts.' That is a dodge, not an answer. As a senior Defense Appropriator, I plan to continue to push for transparency and answers. The United States of America should not be in the business of invading foreign nations and regime change to steal their material wealth.

"We should not be imposing leaders to govern foreign nations. That is what dictators do. There are many questions still to be answered on what occurred, and what comes in the days ahead, and as a senior Defense Appropriator I plan to get those answers. May God bless our nation and our troops."

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