1. United States
2. Ga.
3. Letter

Congress Must Act Now to Halt Misguided Military Operations Against Venezuela’s Maritime Smugglers Congress must immediately use its constitutional authority to restrict appropriations, enact statutory limits on military action, and intensify oversight to prevent further deployment of U.S. military power against Venezuelan maritime drug traffickers. The Venezuela Maritime Corridor Is Not a National Security Threat The Venezuela–Eastern Caribbean route represents less than 10% of U.S.-bound cocaine flows, and an even smaller share of the total drug supply entering the United States. Such flows are not of a magnitude that justifies military escalation – American blood, toil, and money. Over 90% of methamphetamine and fentanyl entering the U.S. is produced in Mexico and smuggled across the land border. Most cocaine also transits Mexico, not the Caribbean. Misplaced Military Action Weakens U.S. Strategic Priorities Continuing military operations in a low-volume corridor diverts assets from regions where interdiction efforts genuinely matter. It provokes unnecessary confrontation, undermines diplomatic initiatives, and appears to politicize use of the military to pressure regime change or oil and mineral deals. Congress Has Clear Constitutional Tools—and Must Use Them Congress can immediately restrict or deny funding for military operations targeting Venezuelan maritime routes, ensuring no further deployments proceed without explicit authorization. Congress can pass targeted legislation prohibiting the use of U.S. armed forces for interdiction missions in low-priority regions unless the Executive Branch demonstrates a measurable national security rationale. This reasserts Congress’s Article I authority and forces alignment with real risks. Require hearings, mandatory reporting, intelligence-sharing requirements, and audits of operational justification to expose the weak strategic basis for current actions and prevent mission creep. If U.S. policymakers genuinely aim to reduce the flow of illegal drugs, then attention must shift to the Mexican trafficking networks responsible for the vast majority of opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine entering American communities. Focusing military assets on Venezuela—where drug flows are marginal—does nothing to protect U.S. citizens. Congress must act swiftly. It can halt unnecessary military operations and redirect U.S. strategy toward the real sources of the drug threat. The Constitution gives Congress this authority; the facts demand its use.