President Donald Trump has sent 12,000 Navy and Marine troops on the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group not far from Venezuela. This suggests that Trump may order an unprovoked attack on Venezuela, resulting in death and injury to innocent Venezuelans as well as putting U.S. service members at unnecessary risk of being targeted with anti-ship missiles.
Since Sept. 3, the Trump administration reports 21 attacks on boats, killing 83 civilians. The administration justifies the killings as combating “narco-terrorists.” A State Department spokesman said, “[President] Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela; he’s a fugitive of American justice who undermines regional security and poisons Americans.”
The Trump administration has fabricated the story that there exists a “Cartel of the Suns” with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at its head. The name “Cartel of the Suns” was a term coined by Venezuelan journalists in the 1990s investigating corruption in the military. The Trump administration has designated this fictional group as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture. In an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Trump said that Maduro’s days are numbered.
A CBS poll finds 70% of Americans oppose military action in Venezuela.
In response to Trump’s illegal killing of civilians and to prevent an illegal U.S. attack on Venezuela, two U.S. senators and four members of Congress, all military and CIA veterans, created a video reminding members of the military and intelligence services of their obligation to refuse to follow illegal orders.
Trump reacted on social media, calling the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump reposted a message, “”HANG THEM. GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
Several of these members of Congress have received bomb threats. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who served three tours as a CIA officer in Iraq, said, “The minute I saw the president said we should be hanged, in effect, I knew that our security situation was going to change precipitously. Obviously, I’m worried about my family. I’m worried about my staff.”
Sen. Mark Kelly stated, “If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) warned that President Trump calling these Democrats traitors is “reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible.”
Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski stated, “To accuse him [Sen. Kelly] and other lawmakers of treason and sedition for rightfully pointing out that service members can refuse illegal orders is reckless and flat-out wrong.”
What are our U.S. representatives doing to prevent war? California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla voted for a war powers resolution to require approval from Congress before President Trump could take military action against Venezuela. The resolution failed on a 51-49 vote with all Democrats voting in favor.
In his 35 press releases since Sept. 3, the date of the first U.S. killings in the Caribbean, Rep. Jimmy Panetta has not expressed concern over Trump’s illegal acts of war or spoken up in support of his colleagues who are now threatened with violence.
Panetta is a former Navy intelligence officer who prides himself on standing up for veterans. How are we to interpret his silence?
Rick Longinotti is a co-founder of Nonviolent Communication Santa Cruz.
Read more on Santa Cruz Sentinel
