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Democrats convene House Foreign Affairs hearing on Venezuela raid; experts warn of legal and strategic risks
Summary
At a special hearing convened by House Foreign Affairs Democrats, three foreign‑policy experts testified that the U.S. military operation in Venezuela raised serious legal and strategic questions, including possible violations of the War Powers Resolution and the UN Charter, a lack of a credible post‑raid plan, and large reconstruction costs.
Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee convened a special hearing to scrutinize a U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the administration’s plans for what comes next. Three outside experts — Thomas Shannon, Frank Mora and Bruce Filicane — told members that the raid and its aftermath raise deep legal, strategic and humanitarian concerns and that Congress has an urgent oversight role.
The experts told the committee they saw no credible plan to follow the operation. Thomas Shannon, a former under secretary of state for political affairs, said the raid “was not an act of regime change. It was an act of leadership change,” and warned that engaging with the remnants of the Maduro regime while excluding the democratic opposition risks greater political volatility in Venezuela.
Bruce Filicane, senior adviser for the U.S. program at the International Crisis Group, framed the operation as a legal problem for Congress. “The U.S. attack upon Venezuela was a usurpation of Congress’s war powers,” he testified, adding that the operation implicated Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter and triggered…
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