A man holds a picture of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a rally in support of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas, January 6, 2026.
Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images
former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard praised former President Donald Trump’s reported “Operation Absolute Resolve” in Venezuela, stating it fulfilled his promise to secure borders and confront drug cartels. Teh operation, details of which remain largely undisclosed, reportedly involved U.S. military and intelligence operations within Venezuela.
In a post to X, gabbard wrote, “President Trump promised the American people he would secure our borders, confront narcoterrorism, dangerous drug cartels and drug traffickers.”
“Kudos to our servicemen and women and intelligence operators for their flawless execution of President Trump’s order to deliver on his promise thru Operation Absolute Resolve,” she added.
Gabbard, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, has a history of diverging from mainstream Democratic foreign policy positions. She has consistently argued against U.S. intervention in Venezuela and criticized what she describes as U.S.-led regime-change efforts.
In January 2019, as the political crisis in Venezuela deepened, Gabbard stated, “The United States needs to stay out of venezuela.Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don’t want other countries to choose our leaders — so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.”
In previous remarks, she characterized Trump’s foreign policy as a departure from traditional Washington approaches, arguing that decades of U.S. policy focused on regime change and nation-building had been detrimental to American interests.
She has said the administration shifted away from “toppling regimes” towards a more pragmatic approach centered on security, economic prosperity, and direct diplomacy.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson