Vice President JD Vance on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as part of the efforts to reduce fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.
His defense comes as some Republican lawmakers broach skepticism toward the White House’s use of the fentanyl crisis as a justification for the aggressive military intervention. The vast majority of fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. originates in Mexico and China, according to federal law enforcement.
Vance pushed back on claims that the operation in Venezuela had “nothing to do with drugs” in a social media post on Sunday, arguing that combating drug trafficking in Venezuela aids the administration’s broader response to the fentanyl crisis on multiple fronts.
Vance claimed that some fentanyl does flow to the U.S. from Venezuela, but argued that cocaine trafficking from the country helps prop up cartels. Maduro was indicted on narcoterrorism charges and conspiracy to import cocaine upon his arrival in the U.S. on Saturday.
“Cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit center for all of the Latin America cartels,” Vance wrote on X. “If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it) you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too!”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a frequent Trump administration critic who has opposed U.S. military actions abroad in the past, disputed that theory in a social media post and urged supporters of President Donald Trump to reject Vance’s argument.
“Wake up MAGA. VENEZUELA is not about drugs; it’s about OIL and REGIME CHANGE. This is not what we voted for,” Massie wrote on social media on Sunday.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is resigning from Congress on Monday following a schism with the president, said the Trump administration should be focused on Mexico if they’re serious about preventing the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
“The majority of American fentanyl overdoses and deaths come from Mexico. Those are the Mexican cartels that are killing Americans,” Greene told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “And so my pushback here is if this was really about narcoterrorists and about protecting Americans from cartels and drugs being brought into America, the Trump administration would be attacking the Mexican cartels.”
Vance defended the Trump administration’s response in Mexico while acknowledging that “a lot of fentanyl is coming out of Mexico,” arguing the nation “continues to be a focus.” He pointed to the president’s actions to restrict immigration via the southern border as a primary response to the flow of fentanyl from Mexico.
