US Senate rejects move to block potential military action against Venezuela!
Washington, Nov 6 (EFE).-
A resolution requiring congressional approval for any potential military attack in Venezuelan territory by President Donald Trump’s administration was voted down in the Senate on Thursday.
The War Powers Resolution was rejected 49-51, as operations by the Southern Command continued in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific.
The measure had virtually no chance of being implemented, not only because it would have had difficulty overcoming a subsequent hurdle in the House of Representatives, but also because it required Trump’s own signature.
The Republican bloc distanced itself from the measure during the vote, even though some members had joined this week in demanding that the administration provide details about attacks on boats in international waters.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia introduced the initiative with the support of 15 co-sponsors, including some Republicans, in October, after Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela.
Kaine argued that they are “tired of Congress abdicating this most solemn power to a president.”
Trump said last week he had not made a decision about strikes within Venezuela.
Over the past two months, the Department of War has officially reported strikes on more than 20 vessels it claims were carrying drugs, and the resulting deaths of more than 66 crew members, whom they have linked to criminal organizations.
But the government has not provided proof this is the case, and at least one family has said their relatives killed in one strike were fishermen with no links to drugs.
Trump reiterated Wednesday at the America Business Forum in Miami that the vessels are linked to fentanyl trafficking into the US and that the government of Nicolás Maduro is involved with drug cartels. EFE
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