Do you support Trump's actions in Venezuela?

Background
On January 3rd, President Trump ordered a military attack in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, taking them to New York to face drug and weapons charges. The administration's legal justification for this action was heavily reliant on the position that Maduro was not the legitimate head of state of Venezuela, but rather an "illegitimate dictator" who had rigged elections and committed "egregious violations". Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained the U.S. operation to capture Nicolás Maduro as a law enforcement action aimed at arresting an indicted drug trafficker and illegitimate leader, rather than an act of war or invasion requiring congressional approval. Rubio’s justification centered on U.S. national security interests and existing indictments against Maduro.

President Trump has asked Rubio to lead the post-Maduro Venezuela overhaul. Rubio indicated the U.S. would use leverage gained through a naval "oil quarantine" and regional military presence to influence the direction of the Venezuelan government toward a democratic transition and real elections. He clarified that the U.S. was not interested in regime change and would not directly govern the country day-to-day, a point that slightly differed from President Trump's initial claim that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela.

Some Arguments in Favor of the Administration’s recent actions and plans regarding Venezuela:

It’s a good thing that Maduro has departed Caracas; he wrecked his country, impoverished his people, stole elections, facilitated the drug trade, flooded the hemisphere with millions of refugees, and aligned his regime with enemies of the United States.

The U.S. should not allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, such as China, Russia, and Iran, which were in cahoots with Maduro and have reason to fear U.S. power. Their instrument for influence in the Western Hemisphere via Venezuela is now out of power and out of luck.

The U.S. operations and plans for Venezuela will also benefit its people by rebuilding its petroleum industry and by pushing for reforms that will reduce the corruption, crime and economic mismanagement that immiserated its people for years.

Some Arguments against the Administration’s recent actions and plans regarding Venezuela:

If there is an overriding lesson of American foreign affairs in the past century, it is that attempting to oust even the most deplorable regime can make matters worse. The United States spent years failing to create stable governments and in Afghanistan and Iraq, with tragic consequences that continue to this day.

If Trump wants to make the case for an invasion and a takeover of another country, the Constitution spells out what he must do: Go to Congress. Without congressional approval, his actions violate U.S. law. His actions also violates the Senate-ratified UN charter.

Trump has recently claimed the right to dominate Latin America to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere. Venezuela has apparently become the first country subject to this latter-day imperialism, and it represents a dangerous and illegal approach to America’s place in the world. By proceeding without any semblance of international legitimacy, valid legal authority or domestic endorsement, Trump risks providing justification for authoritarians in China, Russia and elsewhere who want to dominate their own neighbors.

How This Meetup will Work:

• We'll start the meeting by asking everyone in the room for their vote on the topic -- Yes, No, or Abstain. You also get up to 30 seconds to give an explanation of your vote, or to say what kinds of details you want to hear more about at the debate.
• Then we'll have a speaker presenting arguments in favor of the Motion, followed by another speaker presenting arguments against. Each of these speakers is given 6 uninterrupted minutes.
• After that, everyone in the room will get to participate in a moderated floor debate. A moderator will make sure that people take turns speaking.
• At the end, the 2 original speakers will make closing statements of 3 minutes each, and then we'll take a final vote on the question. When you give your final vote, you'll also have up to a minute to say what arguments in this debate that you found particularly compelling, or what you've changed your mind about (if anything).

Our meeting will be conducted on Zoom. The Zoom link will be visible here on the event page before the event to those who RSVP. It's your choice if you want to turn on your camera or not, but people who can be seen are often more persuasive. At SFDebate, everyone gets a chance to speak and is encouraged to do so, but no one is required to speak if they don't want to.

Some links for your study:

Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/opinion/venezuela-attack-trump-us.html

Rubio: This Is Our Hemisphere — and President Trump Will Not Allow Our Security to be Threatened https://br.usembassy.gov/rubio-this-is-our-hemisphere-and-president-trump-will-not-allow-our-security-to-be-threatened/

Donald Trump still has no clear plan for Venezuela https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/06/donald-trump-still-has-no-clear-plan-for-venezuela

Crisis in Venezuela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_in_Venezuela

The Peril of Ousting Maduro https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/peril-ousting-maduro

Trump demands Venezuela kick out China and Russia, partner only with US on oil https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-demands-venezuela-kick-china-russia-partner-us/story?id=128963238

Chinese Scholars See Russia’s Venezuela Strategy as a Model of Hybrid Power Projection in the U.S.’ Backyard https://chinaglobalsouth.com/2025/11/03/russia-venezuela-strategic-partnership-military-energy-diplomacy/

China: A Silent Ally Protecting Venezuela’s Maduro https://thediplomat.com/2024/07/china-a-silent-ally-protecting-venezuelas-maduro/