Sen. Markwayne Mullin said Sunday that President Trump does not plan to attack Venezuela.
Mr. Mullin, Oklahoma Republican, pushed back on fears of a U.S. invasion as Mr. Trump deploys deadly airstrikes to kill suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers in Caribbean waters.
“No, he’s made it clear, we’re not going to put troops into Venezuela. What we’re trying to do is protect our own shores,” Mr. Mullin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Mr. Trump over the weekend ratcheted up pressure on Venezuela and its strongman leader, Nicolas Maduro, by warning that airspace over the South American country is effectively closed.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president posted on Truth Social.
Mr. Mullin said Mr. Trump tried to close international waters to drug traffickers, only for traffickers to sneak drugs onto airplanes.
“So the president has made it very clear, he’s shutting down the airspace,” Mr. Mullin said.
The senator said efforts to crack down on smugglers should be considered pushback on Mr. Maduro, and not the Venezuelan people.
“We gave Maduro an opportunity to leave,” Mr. Mullin said. “The Venezuelan people themselves have spoken up and said they want a new leader.”
Some congressional lawmakers are concerned about the legality of Mr. Trump’s campaign against alleged drug smugglers.
Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrat, said he is worried about reports that U.S. military commanders ordered a second strike to eliminate survivors of an initial strike on an alleged smuggling boat.
He said the reports, if accurate, seem to amount to a war crime.
“I’ve got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over,” Mr. Kelly told CNN. “We are not Russia, we’re not Iraq. We hold ourselves to a very high standard of professionalism.”
