Sen. Chris Murphy Says Venezuela Takeover Was 'About What's Best For Trump's Mar-A-Lago Oil Industry Buddies' [View all]
Source: Huff Post
Jan 11, 2026, 01:00 PM EST
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) says President Trump’s takeover of Venezuela was “not about American national security interests,” but “about what’s best for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago oil industry buddies.” Appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” moderator Kristen Welker asked the Connecticut senator about his past comments describing Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro as an “illegitimate leader” and his claims in 2019 that “getting rid” of Maduro would be “good for the United States.”
“Is Venezuela now better off without Nicolás Maduro? Do you give the Trump administration some credit for that?,” Welker questioned. Doubling down on his comments, Murphy reiterated that “Maduro is an illegitimate leader” while also calling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin an “illegitimate leader.” He argued that despite that it “doesn’t mean that it’s good policy to invade those countries.”
“What we have seen over and over is that American military hubris, thinking that we can impose a political reality on a foreign country by force, ends up making us less safe,” he explained. “So yes, I thought that it was important for America to pursue a diplomatic strategy with our Latin American allies to try to force elections in Venezuela so as to allow the Venezuelan people to move Maduro out of power. I have never supported an invasion of Venezuela. Because I think–”
Welker then interjected to ask, “But is [Venezuela] better off?” “Well, apparently this new person in charge, Delcy Rodriguez, is imposing a brutal crack-down on the Venezuelan people that’s worse in some ways than what Maduro did,” he continued. “So for the Venezuelan people, nothing has changed.”
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