Marylanders quickly organized responses to the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on Saturday, expressing concerns about the legality of the military intervention and asking questions about what it means for life at home.
Protesters congregated outside Baltimore’s City Hall on Saturday afternoon, just hours after President Donald Trump addressed the nation stating that the United States will “run” Venezuela for the time being and into the near future.
“There is no shortage of needs that the people in the U.S. face,” said Rachel Viqueria, of the Baltimore’s Party for Socialism and Liberation, who helped organize the protest. “We want these taxpayer dollars to meet people's needs, ultimately, and not destroy other countries on behalf of, in this case, oil executives.”
Kelly Schiaffino was at the protest at city hall.
"There's no money for daycares, there's no money for healthcare, there's no money for SNAP but there's endless money to funnel into wars that no one voted for?" Schiaffino said. "No one want this. Trump ran saying he wasn't going to get us into war, and here we are."
Most of Maryland’s Congressional delegation was quick to condemn the attack, especially the administration’s lack of communication with Congress.
“This act of war is a grave abuse of power by the President. The Trump Administration is repeating the worst mistakes of our past and endangering American lives,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat. “This is not about demolishing a dictatorship, as we’ve seen Trump cozy up to dictators around the world. This is about trying to grab Venezuela's oil for Trump's billionaire buddies. Congress must not abdicate its constitutional authority and allow control of the world’s most powerful military to fall into just one set of hands.”
Fellow Democrat, Rep. Johnny Olszewski, called the president’s comments about the U.S. running the country deeply concerning.
“History reminds us that capturing a leader does not always end a conflict or secure a lasting peace. In some cases, especially without a stabilization plan, it serves instead to escalate conflict and cause more human suffering,” Olszewski said. “There is no question that Maduro was a dangerous leader, but by ignoring Congress — and by extension the American people — President Trump is once again operating outside the limits of the law and the Constitution.”
Olszewski, who is on the Foreign Affairs Committee, told WYPR that he is working with other lawmakers to get a briefing on the attack from the White House.
Maryland’s lone Republican in Congress, Rep. Andy Harris of the Eastern Shore, praised the attacks in a statement on social media.
“It’s about time someone stood up to the narcoterrorists who have been poisoning our youth for years while our government has turned a blind eye - thousands of innocent American lives will be saved by President Trump’s decision to seize and arrest [Nicolás] Maduro,” Harris wrote.
Maduro will be held in a prison in New York as he awaits criminal proceedings.
