US Senator Warns Venezuela Action Sets Dangerous Precedent, Risks NATO

US Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters here on Thursday that he had received briefings on Venezuela. He acknowledged that President Nicolás Maduro was "a bad guy" and that the region was "better for him being gone."

However, he stressed that the operation to remove Maduro was "a military action" rather than a legal one, triggering the War Powers Act and requiring congressional oversight.

Warner, who is also co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, said he would support a War Powers Resolution led by Senator Tim Kaine that would require the President to seek congressional approval before taking any further action in Venezuela.

He questioned whether the United States should allow the President to "run the country" for an extended period without legal or financial constraints, warning that such an approach would sideline Congress's constitutional role.

Beyond legality, Warner argued the Venezuela operation risks eroding international norms. He said forcibly seizing a foreign leader because the United States believes that leader violated its laws creates a precedent that weakens international guardrails.

"There is clearly a precedent-setting here that removes America's ability to make a moral standing argument," he said, drawing comparisons to hypothetical actions by Russia or China.

Warner also questioned the long-term costs and strategy behind US involvement in Venezuela. He noted that the administration has suggested Venezuelan oil would pay for the operation, but said the United States does not normally act as a nation-state to seize and sell another country's resources. He asked how long the US would maintain a large naval presence off Venezuela's coast and what the daily costs to American taxpayers would be.

He warned that Venezuela's fragile economy could tip into chaos if government workers stop being paid, raising questions about whether the US would then be drawn into restoring order. Warner said these unresolved issues were among the facts he was still trying to ascertain.

Turning to Greenland, Warner said President Donald Trump's earlier musings about acquiring the territory were once treated as jokes but now appeared more serious in the context of recent actions abroad. He said the United States already operates under a treaty with Denmark that allows an extensive US military presence and access, including a base in Greenland.

Warner questioned why the administration would adopt what he called a threatening posture when those agreements are already in place. He warned that any aggressive move toward Greenland would strike at the heart of the NATO alliance, saying that if the United States threatened a smaller ally "just because it wants a piece of its territory," it would undermine the alliance itself.

He said a US military action against Greenland would "destroy NATO," calling it the most successful post-World War II alliance, and argued such an outcome would benefit adversaries including Russia, China and Iran. Warner added that he believed most lawmakers, including Republicans, would not support a military adventure against a NATO ally.

- IANS