Praises Strategic Foreign Policy Pivot Back to the Western Hemisphere

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined Fox News’ Sunday Briefing to discuss the Trump administration’s successful operation in Venezuela.

Watch the full interview HERE

Senator Schmitt on the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela:

“I think this is clearly a law enforcement action. The military was there to provide support to make sure an indicted criminal would be arrested. Think, if this was something bigger than that, the military posture would have been much different. This was extracting one individual. The Vice President in Venezuela has now been sworn in as President. But Jackie, I think if you take a step back, there’s two very important points to mention. First of all, the mission itself. No military on the planet could pull this off, just like no military on the planet could drop bunker busting bombs on something the size of a kitchen table to disarm, effectively, the nuclear program of Iran. The world is watching that this is [America’s] military might at its at its finest, and I think that is a good deterrent. Secondly, I do think it’s important to note that this is a real shift [in foreign policy]. When President Trump talks about this sort of Trump-corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, it’s a shift away from the last 30 years with their obsession of the Middle East and in Europe, back to the western hemisphere, our homeland. And of course, the Indo-Pacific is a big concern for us too. So, we’re just simply not going to tolerate these tin-pot dictators who flood our country with criminals, who flood our country with drugs. That have hosted the Chinese and other adversaries as a base of operation for them. We’re not going to allow that in the western hemisphere. So, when President Trump says that, he means that, and I think that’s very important to note here as well.”

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“This was completely justified as a law enforcement action. [Nicolas] Maduro will now stand trial in the United States. He’ll have his day in court. But look, I think that the idea that somehow the permanent Washington class, Jackie, has no problem with defending the borders of other countries. I mean, Joe Biden had a blank check for an endless war in Ukraine to defend the sovereignty of that country but cared very little about the sovereignty of our own country. President [Trump] is saying that you will respect our borders. We’re not going to allow you to flood illegal immigrants in here, gang members. They emptied their prisons and Caracas sent them to United States. They’re sending drugs to United States. We’re not going to tolerate that anymore. So, when you talk about this Trump-corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, that’s exactly what it means. This President, also it’s something that’s important to note, gave plenty of off ramps to Maduro. He sought peace first. He sought diplomacy first. And by the way, trying to resolve not just eight other wars that have happened around the world, but also with Russia and Ukraine. So, you have a President now in a country that people respect. I think it’s a restrained foreign policy, but when it’s time to act, we will use overwhelming force. It’s a Jacksonian kind of throwback in the face of this Wilsonian adventurism we’ve seen all around the world for 30 years. I mean, some of the same critics of this have no problem with sending our blood and treasure halfway around the world, but somehow they’re being critical of us defending our own neck of the woods so that our backyard is safe for Americans.”

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“Two points. We’re not at war in the legal sense. These are core Article II [Constitutional] powers. I’ve reviewed the 40-plus page legal memo about the activity that’s happening on the open seas with narcoterrorists. This law enforcement activity is completely justified. So, these are core Article II powers. I would also point out too, when you talk about traditional regime change — we saw in the Middle East, that was the toppling of an entire government, and then us being there for 10-20 years trying to create some democracy in the sands of the Middle East or some tribal backwater. That’s not what’s happening in Venezuela. They have a government. Maduro is gone, but they have a President that’s been sworn — that was their Vice President. Now, we do have core interests there. I think this administration has made it clear they’re going to continue to engage at the highest level with that government. We have interests. Of course, oil companies are going to get the oil back that was stolen from them. We have a military flotilla on the ready, but you don’t see boots on the ground. This is not a military posture for some sort of takeover. That’s not what this is. This was essentially giving a guy an off ramp who’s been destructive the United States. He didn’t do it. Now, he’s in US custody. Venezuela is going to move forward, but we do not want to have China operating freely in Venezuela in our backyard, just like we don’t want China operating both ends of the Panama Canal. So, a message is being delivered that we have core strategic interests in the western hemisphere, and will we use our military might to defend those, if necessary. I think this is a very important pivot, and something very different than we’ve seen over the last 30 years, which I applaud.”

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“Venezuela, they have a government that’s operating. Clearly, we have an interest in some of the things that happen. We don’t want to see the drugs and the criminals come here. The natural resources — we don’t want China, Russia, Iran, to have access to those and so they’re going to move forward. But this is about stabilization. This is about making sure [Venezuela] can have that transition. And that’s what our presence — again, not actually in the country, but off the coast of the country — is all about.”

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“We’re one day into this, so I think they’re moving expeditiously. They understand that Maduro is gone, and I think that this will continue to unfold. I wouldn’t want to deal with those sort of hypotheticals, but this is not a long-term engagement. I mean, this is making sure the Venezuelan people can actually — you know, they’ve been sort of ridden of Maduro. Now, they’re going to move forward. And again, the U.S. has a very important interest here in the western hemisphere. Venezuela isn’t the playground for the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], which is what the CCP wanted. By the way, Jackie, one last point: It’s very interesting that that Chinese delegation was there [in Venezuela]. If you don’t think China noticed that, that we were able to do this [operation] under the cover of darkness, without them knowing anything about it. That’s a very important point too, for deterrence as well.”

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