Reaction to the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was split along party lines among members of the Tennessee congressional delegation.
Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.”
Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. pic.twitter.com/omF2UpDJhA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Maduros have been indicted in the Southern District of New York, where they have been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.
As of press time, Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and U.S. Representative Tim Burchett were among congressional Republicans who applauded the military operation in Venezuela.
Burchett, through his press office, thanked Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying, “Nicolas Maduro is a thug and a narcoterrorist, responsible for the murder of countless Americans. Today, the heavy hand of American justice brought Maduro out of hiding, ending his tyrannical regime once and for all.”
Bold move by @realDonaldTrump taking out convicted NARCO TERRORIST and DICTATOR of Venezuela Maduro. pic.twitter.com/JGFtpq5GG4
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) January 3, 2026
In a separate video posted to social media, Burchett addressed outrage among Democrats – including U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), who said he, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, was not briefed on the operation – arguing that revealing the operation would have foiled its execution.
“Of course they weren’t briefed. They would have run straight to the media, the same thing they did when Soleimani was taken out,” Burchett said.
Blackburn called the operation a “massive victory for the cause of freedom in South America.”
On CNN, Cohen, the only Democratic member of Tennessee’s congressional delegation representing the state’s 9th Congressional District, said the U.S. military operation in Venezuela “puts the United States’ reputation at risk.”
“We’re going to be looked at as we were 100 years ago as the Yankee imperialism where the Latin American countries despised the United States,” Cohen said.
Vice President JD Vance said the operation in Venezuela came after Trump “offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States.”
And PSA for everyone saying this was "illegal":
Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don't get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 3, 2026
Vance added, “And PSA for everyone saying this was “illegal”: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Not to be lost in the discussion, Maduro was indicted during the Joe Biden Administration with reward money being upped to $25,000 000. The democrats were all on board at that time. The same group that picketed “no Kinds Day” while somehow now coming out in support of Maduro, a recognized dictator. Of course Cohen was not notified, nor should he have been. They would have went directly to the media compromising both the mission and our military.
You just knew Cohen would be deeply saddened. He never met a Marxist regime he didn’t love.