Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: «It’s Not About Drugs, It’s About Oil» in Response to Trump’s Actions on Venezuela

Original article: Senadora Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez por ataque de Trump a Venezuela: “No se trata de drogas, se trata de petróleo”

«It’s Not About Drugs, It’s About Oil»: Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Amid escalating tensions with Venezuela, prominent progressive figures within the U.S. Congress have sharply criticized the Trump administration for allegedly orchestrating an illegal military intervention driven by economic and geopolitical motives, while sidestepping constitutional safeguards.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a leading voice among the Democratic progressives, denounced on social media platform X that the operation is not genuinely aimed at combating drug trafficking. She stated: «It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs». In her post, she elaborated, noting that if the operation were truly focused on drugs, Trump would not have pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, a prominent narco trafficker, just last month after he was sentenced to 45 years in prison and extradited in 2022.

According to Ocasio-Cortez, the military operation in Venezuela is fundamentally about oil and regime change: «And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein and the skyrocketing healthcare costs,» the congresswoman concluded.

Simultaneously, Senator Bernie Sanders publicly condemned the military action, accusing President Trump of acting outside the boundaries of the Constitution, Congress, and international law. In an official statement, Sanders warned that this intervention not only lacks legal justification but also poses a direct threat to global security. «Congress must stop this illegal military operation,» he urged, calling for the immediate passage of a War Powers Resolution to reclaim the constitutional authority of the Legislative Branch.

Sanders cautioned that violating international law sets a dangerous precedent that could be mimicked by other nations, drawing comparisons to Russian justifications for invading Ukraine. He also criticized the potential revival of the Monroe Doctrine and the open interest in controlling Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, labeling such actions as «imperialism» that rekindles the darkest chapters of U.S. intervention in Latin America.