What is the United States getting itself into after seizing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — was a question multiple Democratic members of Illinois’ congressional delegation were asking Saturday.

“The American people believed Donald Trump when he promised on the campaign trail that he would get our nation out of foreign wars, but this morning we awoke to another stark reminder that he is — and has always been — a liar who has never cared about keeping his promises,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a statement.

“The Constitution requires the American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, to authorize any president to engage in acts of war — because they will be the ones to live with the consequences of the decision — and it is unacceptable for this president to deny them that responsibility,” said Duckworth, a Hoffman Estates combat veteran.

Elite U.S. forces dispatched by Trump captured Maduro and his wife overnight from their home at a military base in Caracas. They are being transported by a warship to New York where the couple will stand trial. Trump said the action will restore prosperity to the country with American oil companies moving in to increase production.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park noted Maduro was indicted in U.S. courts for drug trafficking and “stole the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election.”

“Those facts alone, however, do not relieve President Trump of his constitutional obligations or give him blanket authority to send the U.S. military into a foreign land,” Schneider said in a statement.

“The president must also present Congress with a credible strategy for what comes next. The administration needs to explain how it intends to prevent Venezuela from further collapsing, becoming a failed state, and potentially destabilizing the entire region.”

Trump indicated a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would manage Venezuela in the interim and the U.S. would be compensated with oil proceeds.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg called Maduro an illegitimate dictator who has inflicted suffering on Venezuelans, but stressed neither the American people nor Congress approved the mission.

“The president has now stated that the United States will run Venezuela, committing the country to open-ended responsibility,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “This use of force and claimed control erode the rule of law, embolden Moscow and Beijing to push boundaries elsewhere, weaken America’s credibility, and ultimately make Americans less safe.”

Meanwhile, Peoria Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood praised the military in a post on X, and described Maduro as a thug, dictator and narco-terrorist.

“He was legally indicted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York for his crimes, a warrant issued, and now he will stand trial to be held accountable for his destruction. Venezuela and the region will be a better place without this illegitimate dictator,” LaHood said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260103/nation-and-world-politics/what-comes-next-democrats-warn-u-s-could-be-walking-into-a-quagmire-after-maduro-capture/