Wittman's massive hypocrisy on Venezuela
Of course it's not about drugs or national security
The verdict is in: Almost all experts on international law agree that the recent U.S. military incursion in Venezuela, which resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, was a blatant violation of the United Nations prohibition on the use of force against a sovereign nation except in self-defense.
But that didn’t stop Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st District from heaping praise on the Trump administration for “taking decisive action in Venezuela to protect our national security.”
The death toll from the invasion now stands at 80 and could rise further.
Like President Trump, who ordered the invasion without consulting Congress, Wittman justified the attack on the grounds that Venezuela is a major source of illegal drugs coming into the United States.
There’s just one problem with that rationale: It doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Fentanyl and cocaine are the primary drivers of the epidemic of drug overdose deaths in the United States, yet Venezuela is not mentioned as a major source of either drug in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment. Instead, most of the fentanyl comes from Mexico and most of the cocaine originates in Colombia.
Moreover, Wittman had nothing to say about Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, which overturned his 45-year sentence for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and committing related firearms offenses. The hypocrisy is staggering.
Wittman loves to portray himself as a friend of America’s servicemen and women. But by signing onto an illegal invasion, he has sold out the servicemembers who participated in it, who in theory could be charged with war crimes under international law.
Reactions to the invasion from Virginia’s congressional delegation fell predictably along partisan lines, with Republicans praising Trump’s aggression and Democrats condemning it.
But one of Wittman’s GOP colleagues, Rep. Morgan Griffith of the 9th District, at least tempered his praise with this cautionary note: “I am concerned about U.S. military intervention in foreign countries because of its potential to lead to protracted U.S. engagement. Because of this concern, I will be asking that further information is shared regarding the drug trafficking charges. Further, I want information on plans for future U.S. involvement in Venezuela and will insist Congressional authority and oversight be adhered to.”
Wittman, on the other hand, showed no such hesitancy in his full-throated cheerleading for Trump’s gunboat diplomacy.
Apparently, no Trump outrage is too much for our MAGA congressman.