U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) wants the United States to stay out of Venezuela.
His comments, made on the Senate floor on Wednesday and repeatedly on social media, come as Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro faces drug and weapons charges in the U.S.
The Senate was expected to begin votes on a war powers resolution to block military action in Venezuela on Thursday.
President Donald Trump (R) has defended military action in the country, saying its leaders are responsible for funneling drugs and migrants into the U.S.
Murphy dismissed that explanation and accused Trump of intervening to get to the country’s oil.
“This doesn't have to do with the security threat to the United States,” Murphy said. “It doesn't have to do with the flow of drugs to the United States. It doesn't have to do with restoring democracy inside Venezuela. And so in those moments and days after the invasion of Venezuela, we were left to wonder, what is it all about? And Donald Trump basically told you. I mean, he did tell you. He said it was about oil.”
The White House responded to Murphy’s claims, calling him a "buffoon."
“Tell that to the families of the innocent Americans brutally murdered by the gang members the regime imported here, or the drugs they trafficked here,” the administration’s rapid response team wrote on X.
It’s not clear how long Trump plans to “run” Venezuela. In a New York Times interview on Wednesday, the president said oversight could last “much longer” than a year.
Murphy said he would rather the president focus on domestic issues.
“Venezuela isn't terribly relevant for the people I represent, who are worried about an economy that seems to be stagnant, health care premiums that are doubling, tripling,” Murphy said. “For many people in my state, prices are going up on all the stuff that you need to afford to live, and all of a sudden the President is talking only about Venezuela.”
