Majority Of Republicans Support Maduro Ouster — But Worry What Comes Next

Republicans overwhelmingly back the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but a majority are concerned about deeper involvement in the country, according to a Reuters poll released Monday.

The poll, conducted over two days following Saturday’s dramatic mission in Caracas, found that 65% of Republicans support the operation ordered by President Donald Trump. The same share said they support the U.S. “running” Venezuela temporarily until a new government is established, while 43% — a plurality — favor a broader U.S. policy of “dominating affairs in the Western Hemisphere.”

Despite the strong initial support, 54% of Republicans said they worry the U.S. could become too entangled in Venezuelan affairs.

Trump, who announced the capture on Saturday, said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” is possible. He warned of a second strike if Maduro’s allies “don’t behave” and added that he is “not afraid of boots on the ground.” On Sunday, he also pledged to overhaul Venezuela’s oil industry, saying the U.S. needs “total access” to the country’s oil fields.

The operation captured Maduro and his wife to face narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, and firearms charges in New York. Many of Trump’s supporters and elected Republicans praised the mission as a strategic success, with no U.S. equipment losses or fatalities.

Yet, some observers have questioned the administration’s decision to back Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, as the country’s interim leader, rather than opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose proxy, Edmundo González, is widely regarded as the true winner of Venezuela’s 2024 election.

In the aftermath of Maduro’s removal, Machado — who has been in hiding for over a year — pledged to return to her country “as soon as possible” and called for a new election. Trump, however, has dismissed the possibility of an election in the next month.

“The Trump Administration talks about its foreign-policy ‘realism.’ But if Maduro 2.0 remains in defiant power in six months, its gamble on his henchmen won’t look very realistic,” The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote on Saturday.

In contrast, Tucker Carlson, co-founder of the Daily Caller News Foundation, said he is grateful that the operation has not led to a complete regime change.

“I’ll just tell you what I’m grateful for, and I’m grateful for the wisdom of not taking out the entire government,” Carlson said on his podcast Monday. “Not because I support the government, but because, you know, we have clear models in Iraq, in Libya and Syria. Like, it can be very hard to put those things back together again and the fact that they appear to be backing Delcy Rodriguez, not because they love her, but because they favor stability over chaos. They’re kind of keeping the structure in place, but making sure it’s pro-American. That seems like a much wiser approach.”

Some Republicans have been more critical. Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who marked her last day in Congress on Monday, questioned the administration’s priorities.

“If U.S. military action and regime change in Venezuela was really about saving American lives from deadly drugs then why hasn’t the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels?” Greene wrote on X following the operation. “Americans disgust with our own government’s never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it.”

“This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end,” she added.

Another Trump foe, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, also blasted the administration’s move.

“Wake up MAGA. VENEZUELA is not about drugs; it’s about OIL and REGIME CHANGE,” Massie wrote on X.

Democrats, meanwhile, have been sharply critical of the operation. Reuters’ polling found only 11% of Democrats support the U.S. removal of Maduro.

“We want a bright future for the Venezuelan people. It’s a great country that’s been decimated by the Maduro regime. Nobody is disputing that,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday in response to a question by the DCNF. “But no one’s also disputing the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not support another failed foreign war putting our men and women in uniform at risk.”

Among the total population surveyed, 33% supported the military action, 34% opposed it and 33% were unsure. Seventy-two percent of all respondents — and 90% of Democrats — expressed concern that the U.S. could become too involved in the country.