Iowa politicians are sharply divided after the Trump administration used military force over the weekend to bomb Venezuela and abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, flying them to the US to face narcoterrorism charges.
Statements from Iowa’s Republican congressional delegation were unified in support of Maduro’s capture. They focused on Maduro’s alleged role in drug trafficking and the threat to American lives from fentanyl.
However, the US indictment of Maduro cites cocaine smuggling and The New York Times reported that while there is evidence that Mr. Maduro has benefited from the drug trade to stay in power, Venezuela is not a major drug producer with most of its cocaine flowing to Europe, not the United States.
Gov. Kim Reynolds framed the operation as necessary to address “dangerous and deadly drugs flooding into our country from Venezuela,” calling it an action that “defends our national security.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley provided the most detailed legal justification in a memo to press, saying that “Maduro was a fugitive of American justice” with a Justice Department warrant since 2020 for drug trafficking. Grassley compared the action to President George H.W. Bush’s 1989 deployment to capture Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, arguing Trump “used his constitutional authority to arrest Maduro and save American lives.”
US Sen. Joni Ernst and Reps. Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, Randy Feenstra, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks echoed Grassley’s remarks, with Ernst calling Maduro and his associates “narcoterrorist cartels” and Miller-Meeks describing him as an “illegitimate dictator” whose regime’s “role in flooding our communities with fentanyl has devastated families across Iowa and the nation.”
All Republican officials thanked US troops for the operation’s execution, with Hinson specifically praising Trump for taking “action & follows through.”
Democrats warn of an unconstitutional war that Americans don’t want
In posts to social media and press releases, Iowa Democrats focused on concerns about constitutional process, the risk of prolonged military engagement, and Trump’s stated intention to “run” Venezuela and his desire to exploit the country’s oil supply for US use.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart acknowledged the military’s successful execution but emphasized that “our system of government has checks and balances” and criticized the lack of congressional authorization.
“Our courageous soldiers should not be put at risk or asked to enter long-term wars, occupy countries and rebuild governments without the consent of the governed,” Hart wrote.
State Sen. Zach Wahls, running for Ernst’s Senate seat, accused Trump of “forcing regime change in Venezuela with no clear plan other than enriching big oil companies and defense contractors while Iowans continue to struggle in a rigged economy.”
Trump has said he will tap into Venezuela’s oil reserves. The country’s crude oil reserves are the largest in the world. But disrepair from international sanctions and mismanagement have left its infrastructure inoperable without large, long-term investment.
Wahls called it “shameful and wrong to spend billions on Venezuela while Iowans deal with unaffordable grocery prices, sky-high medical bills and prescription drug costs.”
Wahls’ opponents in the Democratic Senate primary also condemned the Trump administration’s actions. Nathan Sage called the operation “cowardice” and “illegal,” while Josh Turek said “nobody wants another unjustified, unconstitutional war that Congress didn’t approve.”
Democratic congressional candidates echoed constitutional concerns. Christina Bohannan, challenging Miller-Meeks, warned about “continued offensive military measures — without Congressional authorization — against a country that poses no immediate threat to us” and the administration’s plan to potentially enmesh the United States “in yet another foreign war or occupation without end.”
Taylor Wettach and Travis Terrell, who are also running in the Democratic primary to take on Miller-Meeks, drew explicit comparisons to the Iraq War, with Wettach writing on X that Trump “pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking” and arguing “this isn’t about drugs. It’s about distracting from failures at home and getting rich by seizing another country’s oil.”
Terrell warned that “wars for oil make the rich richer while the young pay the price in blood.”
