Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is praising this weekend's U.S. military operations in Venezuela, which included the capture of its president Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a former combat veteran, calls the Trump administration's actions unconstitutional.
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that the U.S. "successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro,” and that U.S. law enforcement assisted in the operation.
The strikes came as the Trump administration has increased pressure on Maduro’s government, accusing it of leading a drug-trafficking organization. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face criminal charges in the U.S. following an indictment unsealed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In remarks from his private golf club Mar-a-Lago, Trump said Saturday the U.S. is “going to run” Venezuela for now.
As NPR reports, the Venezuelan government called the attacks a "flagrant violation" of the United Nations Charter.
LaHood, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal and much of northern and Central Illinois, said in a social media post that “Venezuela and the region will be a better place without this illegitimate dictator."
“Nicolas Maduro is a thug, dictator and international criminal. He has continued to engage in narco-terrorism, flooding the U.S. with illegal drugs that are harming U.S. citizens every day,” LaHood said.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, a Democrat who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and represents parts of Bloomington-Normal and much of west-central and northern Illinois, said in a social media post that Maduro is "a corrupt and illegitimate leader and must face justice."
Maduro became president of the South American country in 2013 and declared victory in 2018 and 2024 presidential elections, despite evidence to the contrary. The National Assembly of Venezuela, as well as more than 50 countries around the world, including the United States, have refused to recognize him as the head of state.
But Sorensen said he’s “disturbed that Donald Trump thinks it’s okay to ‘run Venezuela’ indefinitely."
“I am equally disturbed that the President thinks it’s okay for American oil companies to profit from this action. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires Congress to be briefed within 48 hours. I look forward to asking the important questions and demanding honest answers,” Sorensen said.
During Saturday's press conference, Trump said American oil companies were primed to invest in Venezuela, claiming they might "go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country."
"As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust," Trump said. "They were pumping almost nothing by comparison to what they could have been pumping and what could have taken place."
According to the UN Refugee Agency, nearly 8 million people have fled Venezuela, about 20% of its population, characterizing it as the second largest displacement crisis in the world, behind Syria. Trump claimed U.S. investment in the country would enable Venezuelans residing in the U.S. to return to their homeland.
In a statement on social media, Gov. JB Pritzker said "Donald Trump's unconstitutional military action in Venezuela is putting our troops in harm's way with no long-term strategy."
"The American people deserve a President focused on making their lives more affordable," he said.
Sen. Duckworth called Maduro a “bad actor,” but also slammed Trump for not seeking authorization from Congress.
“No president has the authority to unilaterally decide to use force to topple a government, thrusting us and the region into uncertainty without justification, a defined end-state or a real plan for preventing the instability that could come next,” Duckworth said, adding Trump’s actions will "put American troops at risk across the globe."
In a statement, outgoing Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin similarly disagreed with President Trump's use of force, stating "a Justice Department indictment cannot justify the lack of Congressional authorization."
"At the same time, Nicolás Maduro repeatedly denied the will of the Venezuelan people," he said.
Durbin didn't explicitly oppose Trump's intentions to "run" Venezuela for the foreseeable future, but stated he worries about "this Administration's follow through on foreign policy interventions."
He said he has spoken with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, and Maduro's 2024 election opponent, Edmundo González.
"They should be allowed to begin the formidable task of rebuilding their own nation," Durbin said.
