Trump’s Illegal Capture of Maduro, and How Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation Responded to it.

Find more on this in the Jan. 6 edition of the “Wisconsin Forward” podcast.

I got up early, real early, on Saturday, Jan. 3, because I couldn’t sleep. It was 3:30 a.m., and I was sick of rolling around in bed so I got up and went to my desk and turned on the computer and checked CNN. Nothing new going on. So I checked my emails, and went back to CNN and the news was breaking, from Trump himself, that he’d sent the U.S. military in and snatched Nicolás Maduro.

For me it was a case of déjà vu. About 37 years before, back in 1989, I was then the managing editor of The Progressive magazine, and when George H.W. Bush sent the U.S. military into Panama and snatched Manuel Noriega, I was so appalled by the brazen illegality of that move that I wrote an op-Ed for the Chicago Tribune about it.

So here we go again. Another U.S. president with another illegal intervention in Latin America.

For Latin Americans, it’s nothing new, at all.

Since 1898, one President after another has repeatedly sent our troops to overthrow one government after another there or has used the CIA to destabilize those governments.

The list is long, and it includes: Brazil, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Granada, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama

So, what Trump has done is not unusual. He just did it in a cruder way than his predecessors, letting the cat out of the bag that it was all about oil and saying right out loud that we’re going to be the ones running Venezuela, and then warning Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba that they might be next.

Millions of Latin Americans, I’m sure, are now having a bad case of PTSD. There’s an old saying in Mexico, “So far from God, so close to the United States” that’s ringing in many heads right now.

Because the basic principle that the people of Latin America have the right to self-determination and to control their own resources is once again upended by their powerful neighbor to the north.

Here in the U.S., I’ve been appalled that the media has underplayed the illegality of Trump’s action in Venezuela.

So here’s a brief refresher course.

No. 1: –Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution gives to Congress, and only to Congress, the right to declare war. James Madison warned that if we gave that authority to the President, it would be “too much temptation for one man.” How right he was!

No. 2:–The War Powers Act of 1973 requires the President to consult with Congress before introducing U.S. troops into hostilities. Donald Trump didn’t do that.

No. 3: -The National Security Act, as amended by the Intelligence Authorization Act, requires the President to notify the leadership of Congress about highly sensitive covert actions. Donald Trump didn’t do that.

No. 4:–The U.N. Charter states that every country must “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

So Trump’s action in Venezuela was illegal times four.

But you wouldn’t know that by listening to Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who was asked directly about this by a reporter for WEAU. 

All he said was: “That’s inaccurate.”

You know, just asserting the legality of Trump’s action doesn’t make it legal.

Other members of Wisconsin’s Republican delegation heaped praise on Trump without showing an ounce of concern about the illegality of the operation.

Tom Tiffany’s reaction was typical: “I commend President Trump and the brave U.S. personnel who carried out this efficient and effective operation.” 

Scott Fitzgerald praised Trump’s “decisive action.”

Tony Wied called it a “decisive operation.”

Bryan Steil called it a “positive” development.

Senator Ron Johnson said: “It is unquestionably good that Nicolas Maduro is no longer holding illegitimate power over what has become the narco-terrorist state of Venezuela.” 

Fortunately, Wisconsin Democrats in Congress had a starkly different response.

Gwen Moore said Trump acted “recklessly,” and said she was “deeply troubled by the President again skirting Congress, this time to invade and now attempt to run a country, at the expense of our brave service members and apparently, the taxpayer.”

Mark Pocan said,  “Bombing and occupying Venezuela is an illegal act of war against a sovereign nation.”

He added: “Trump’s reckless and illegal attack against Venezuela represents a further degradation of the rule of law in our country. It makes the world less safe.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin also spoke out forcefully: “The President does not have the unilateral authority to invade foreign countries, oust their governments, and seize their resources.”

I’m grateful to Gwen Moore, Mark Pocan and Tammy Baldwin for upholding the rule of law and for honoring Wisconsin’s great progressive leaders who also opposed lawless U.S. military actions abroad.

I’m thinking, of course, of Fighting Bob La Follette and also of William Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson and Robert Kastenmeier and Dave Obey and Russ Feingold.

That’s good company to keep.

Especially in a time of déjà vu.

Listen to more on this topic with Matt Rothschild on the “Wisconsin Forward” podcast here.