1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing as a concerned constituent to demand that you publicly and forcefully oppose Donald Trump’s dangerous military escalation toward Venezuela. This situation is escalating beyond rhetoric — and Congress’s silence is not neutrality, it is complicity. Satellite imagery now confirms that the United States has moved the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship carrying 1,600 Marines and a full air wing of attack helicopters and jets, to within striking distance of Venezuela. This is not a symbolic deployment. It’s part of a growing naval buildup in the Caribbean that includes the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group, B-1 bombers, and multiple destroyers, all under the pretense of a so-called “counter-drug operation.” This operation has already resulted in the destruction of civilian boats and the deaths of 43 people, with no credible evidence offered to justify the attacks. Now, Trinidad and Tobago has placed its own forces on high alert, bracing for a possible U.S. strike. What began as an alleged interdiction effort now looks unmistakably like the groundwork for an unauthorized act of war. This is not about national defense — it’s about political theater. Creating a foreign crisis to project strength is the oldest authoritarian trick in the book. No president has the right to unilaterally drag the United States into another conflict to serve personal image or political power. Congress has a constitutional duty — not an optional one — to authorize or prevent military engagement. I am asking you directly: • Will you speak out publicly against this reckless show of force? • Will you demand congressional hearings on the legality and human cost of these operations? • Will you insist that no offensive military action be taken without explicit authorization from Congress? The American people did not vote to play Battleship with real lives. We deserve transparency, restraint, and leadership grounded in law — not ego. Please use your voice and your position to demand that this buildup stop before it crosses the line into bloodshed. Every hour of silence increases the risk of another needless war.