KTNV: Nevada political leaders react to US military action in Venezuela

(KTNV) - Nevada's political leaders are reacting to the U.S. military's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an overnight raid on Caracas.

The Silver State's majority-Democrat congressional delegation joined a chorus of their counterparts who criticized President Donald Trump and his administration for not giving Congress advance notice of the plans.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were being held on board the U.S. warship Iwo Jima, President Trump said. The pair has been indicted in the Southern District of New York, and Maduro faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States," according to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Rep. Susie Lee, who represents Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, wrote that the Venezuelan people should be free to choose their future, but stated, "The American people are opposed to another forever war."

"Throughout history, too often the United States started wars without a plan to end them, losing too many of our sons and daughters along the way," Lee stated. "Now, President Trump has said that the United States is "running" Venezuela. Such an action is an act of war, not a law-enforcement activity, and requires Congressional authorization and clear legal authority, neither of which the Administration has been given."

Locally, Maduro's capture is being celebrated among the Venezuelan community as an act of liberation.