November 25, 2025, New York – In response to reports that President Trump has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and what appears to be the increasingly likely use of force on land in addition to the many unlawful killings at sea, the Center for Constitutional Rights issued the following statement:

Trump is preparing to wage war on Venezuela – a grossly illegal act that would unleash untold suffering on its people. This would be a war of aggression, which the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg called “the supreme international crime.” 

To make a case for war, Trump and his aides have made the fantastical claim that Venezuela poses a grave threat to the security of the United States by producing and trafficking drugs. Venezuela plays virtually no role in the fentanyl trade, and its role in the cocaine trade is much smaller than that of other countries. The administration claims Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro heads a drug cartel, which it recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization, but it is doubtful that such a cartel even exists. Regardless, Trump does not have the authority to attack Venezuela. Under international law, a country’s involvement in drugs, no matter how extensive, does not make it a legitimate target of military force.

Beyond the bogus legal argument for war, some have tried to make a moral case. This imputes concern for the wellbeing of Venezuelans to an administration that has not hesitated to murder Venezuelans and brutalize Venezuelan refugees, rendering them to face indefinite detention and abuse in Guantánamo Bay and CECOT. Even under administrations less lawless, corrupt, and rapacious than this one, the U.S. government generally wages war only to secure its own geopolitical and economic interests. The likely reasons that Trump is targeting Venezuela are discernible: to assert control over the western hemisphere, profit from Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth, and topple a government that has long opposed U.S. imperialism in favor of a compliant one that, like Argentina’s, shares his reactionary commitments. 

Opponents of Maduro might nonetheless hope to leverage U.S. intervention for their own ends, but recent history shows that misery persists for years in countries where the United States has removed the government, and the bloody toll of two centuries of U.S. imperialism in Latin America is similarly instructive. This war could be nothing less than calamitous, resulting in mass suffering for Venezuelans. It would likely require a massive bombing campaign, compel the Maduro government to intensify oppression of political opponents, and lead to a U.S. occupation, which could destabilize the entire region. 

Attempts in Congress to restrict Trump from using military force in the Caribbean have failed, but he may be surprised by the degree of bipartisan opposition he will face if he attempts to launch an all-out war on Venezuela. We are eager to join with opponents of war and regime change from across the political spectrum to demand that Congress try to prevent such a war by exercising its authority under the Constitution and the War Powers Act. 

Since the inception of the Center for Constitutional Rights nearly six decades ago, we have stood in solidarity with Latin Americans fighting for justice and liberation and in opposition to U.S. intervention in the region. Trump's war of aggression would only exacerbate the struggles of Venezuelans. He must be stopped. 

The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, @theCCR on Twitter/X, and @ccrjustice on Instagram, and @ccrjustice.org on BlueSky.