Seattle’s Infamous Warmonger Rep. Adam Smith Criticizes Trump’s Attack On Venezuela

Over the weekend, the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a violent military action that killed dozens of Venezuelan civilians, brazenly violated international law, set the stage for occupation, and risks more imperial destabilization in South America for the express purpose of draining Venezuela’s oil rich soil under the guise of “narco-terrorism conspiracy” charges. And you know it's a bad move when Seattle-area Rep. Adam Smith, a friend to weapon manufacturers and foe to the anti-war movement, speaks out against it. While Smith’s statement is certainly unsupportive and far from the worst position a Democrat has taken on this issue, no one should count on the guy bankrolled by the weapon industry to fight too hard to prevent war on Venezuela. 

In a statement released this weekend, Smith outlined several criticisms of the military action. For one, the operation is not in the interest of his constituents. 

“Today’s actions will not make Americans safer and do nothing to address the everyday concerns regarding the rising cost of health care, housing, groceries, and other critical issues impacting affordability and the quality of life here at home,” Smith wrote. “These actions run counter to everything Trump campaigned on and rather than ending conflicts the president has chosen to drag the U.S. into further foreign wars."

Smith’s spot on: To attack another nation drains tax dollars that could improve the lives of U.S. residents. But any applause he garners should be accompanied by stern side-eye. The sentiment is pretty rich coming from the guy who spent the last several years voting to fund Israel’s genocide in Gaza. 

Some of Smith’s gripes boil down to poor planning — certainly not the harshest condemnation of U.S. imperialism. Smith criticized Trump for not consulting with or seeking authorization from Congress. He also complained that Trump does not seem to have considered “what comes next in terms of a functioning government in Venezuela.” Again, not a strong endorsement of the right to self-determination for the people of Venezuela. 

In a TV interview with CBS News, Smith expanded on this point, saying that it can be “seductive” to see a “very bad guy” like Maduro and forcibly remove him with U.S. Military might, but he said that has not ended well in the past, like when the U.S. went after Saddam Hussein or the Taliban. Smith’s speaking from experience having been seduced himself. You may remember that Smith voted for an Oct. 2002 resolution authorizing the invasion on Iraq, a decision he justified in a press release calling Hussein “​not simply an evil dictator,” but “an unpredictable, sociopathic murderer.”

Smith said this won’t stop “narco-terroroism” either. According to Federal Court filings, Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges. In a TV interview with CBS News, Smith argued it is "ludicrous" to claim that Trump cares about interrupting drug trafficking given that he just recently pardoned former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been convicted in a U.S. court on similar drug trafficking charges.

Instead, Smith said that Trump’s motivated by oil. This isn’t mere speculation or an educated guess based on the U.S.’s greasy, greedy history of ravaging other nations for their natural resources — Trump explicitly confirmed this intent himself. 

But never give a war monger too much credit. Smith’s not exactly bashing Trump for seeking oil. He said: “Trump wants Venezuela’s oil,” and instead of clearly condemning the president for prioritizing oil companies’ already exorbitant profits over the wellbeing of the people of both Venezuela and the United States, Smith asked, “is that a legitimate purpose?” 

Smith, a Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, can never take a truly anti-war stance. Afterall, he’s bought and paid for by the weapons manufacturers. Throughout his 30 year congressional tenure, Smith has received more than $2 million from the defense industry, according to OpenSecrets.org. That’s including hefty contributions from Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and RTX Corporation to name a few. 

His ties and subsequent allyship to war profiteers has earned Smith a bad reputation with the anti-war movement. He faced a challenger in his last election, Melissa Chaudhry, in response to his perpetuation of the genocide in Gaza. Chaudhry is running again this year and is joined by another anti-war challenger in former Seattle City Council Member and socialist rabble rouser Kshama Sawant. 

Unsurprisingly, Sawant did not mince words when responding to the U.S. military aggression on Venezuela.