Friend,

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed federal indictments charging Nicolás Maduro with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, drug trafficking, and weapons-related offenses. Last night, on President Trump’s orders, U.S. forces took Maduro into custody, and he is now en route to the United States aboard the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7).

Maduro’s arrest and forthcoming trial in a U.S. court mark a long-overdue step toward justice for American families devastated by Venezuelan-made and trafficked drugs. It also strengthens America’s national security by dismantling a regime that has served as a facilitator for the Chinese Communist Party and Russia.

At the same time, American leaders must apply the hard lessons learned in Iraq and take deliberate steps to minimize the power-vacuum risks that can follow the removal of a sinister regime. Strength without strategy invites chaos, and chaos is exactly what our adversaries seek to exploit.

Venezuela’s threat to the United States is not abstract. The Maduro regime turned a once-prosperous country into a permissive hub where state power, transnational crime, and hostile foreign actors converge. Migration routes double as pipelines for drugs, weapons, and cash. Criminal gangs operate with regime protection. Illicit oil and gold finance armed groups. Foreign adversaries supply weapons and surveillance technology to entrench repression. When a government sells its sovereignty to America’s enemies, American communities pay the price.

It is also important to set the record straight. The authority President Trump relied upon to carry out this operation was narrower and more restrained than the authority President Obama asserted during the 2011 Libya intervention, which involved sustained airstrikes and months of combat operations without congressional authorization. The outrage from some of my colleagues on the left is not grounded in constitutional law or historical precedent. It is driven by reflexive Trump Derangement Syndrome, not serious analysis of presidential war powers.

Credit is due to President Trump for ordering the operation, and to the men and women of the U.S. military, Law Enforcement, and intelligence community who carried it out with professionalism and resolve.

Looking ahead, America will need Secretary Rubio’s continued diplomatic leadership, backed by strategic military power and strong international alliances, to prevent the CCP and Russia from exploiting this moment and to secure lasting stability in our hemisphere. Allowing a criminalized state to entrench itself in our own backyard would carry far higher costs later.

This is what principled leadership looks like: enforcing the law, protecting American families, and advancing U.S. interests abroad without repeating the mistakes of the past.

Thank you for standing with me,

Rep. Nick LaLota

P.S. The Venezuelan people are not the enemy. The enemy is a criminal regime that exports drugs, instability, and foreign influence into our hemisphere. Clear-eyed leadership means acting before the consequences grow worse.

ABOUT NICK:

Nick LaLota is a proud husband, father of three young daughters, Navy Veteran, and lifelong Long Islander. In Congress, Nick represents New York’s First District, which includes communities between Huntington and the Hamptons.

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Nick served our nation with distinction—leading Sailors on three overseas deployments and working alongside our allies and partners overseas. He later earned both his MBA and law degree from Hofstra University while continuing his service here at home.

Elected to Congress first in 2022 and again in 2024, Nick LaLota is running for re-election because he believes Long Island families deserve a representative who puts service before self, results over rhetoric, and community above politics. He has twice won tough general elections—despite being outspent 2 to 1 in 2022 and 3 to 1 in 2024—because voters know he delivers real results.

In Washington, Nick serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Small Business Committee, where he works to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and small businesses have room to grow. He also serves as co-chairman of the bipartisan Navy and Marine Corps Caucus, advocating for those who wear the uniform and their families.

When asked what drives him to serve, Nick’s answer is simple: his daughters. Like every parent, he wants his children to grow up safe, proud of their country, and confident that the American Dream is still within reach.

Nick is a proud Navy Veteran, a commonsense conservative, an independent thinker, and a fighter for middle-class taxpayers. He’s worked to secure the border, cut wasteful spending, deliver tax relief, and protect Veterans and working families. And he’s never backed down from doing what’s right for Long Island.