1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to hold the Trump administration accountable for the demonstrably false statements used to justify the unauthorized military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026. The American people deserve honesty from their government, especially when military force is deployed without Congressional authorization. President Trump claimed that each boat strike off Venezuela's coast saves 25,000 lives from drug overdoses. This assertion is mathematically impossible. The administration struck 32 vessels since September 2025, killing approximately 115 people. If Trump's claim were accurate, these strikes would prevent 800,000 deaths, nearly 11 times the 73,000 drug overdose deaths the CDC reported from May 2024 to April 2025. Furthermore, experts confirm that Venezuela plays only a minor role in drug trafficking to the United States, and the administration provided no evidence about drug types or quantities on these vessels. Trump also claimed Maduro sent members of the Tren de Aragua gang to terrorize American communities. An April 2025 National Intelligence Council report directly contradicts this, stating that "the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States." The Justice Department indictment against Maduro contains no mention of this alleged activity. Additionally, Trump's claim that Venezuela "stole" U.S. oil misrepresents the 1975 nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, which Venezuelan economist Francisco Rodríguez called "relatively uncontroversial" at the time. U.S. companies were compensated $1 billion each for their losses. These falsehoods were used to justify military action conducted without Congressional notification, violating the 1973 War Powers Resolution. I urge you to demand a full accounting of the facts behind this operation and to insist on truthful communication from the administration regarding military deployments.