OMAHA, Neb — After the United States made a "large-scale strike" in Venezuela's capital city, Caracas, President Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured and brought to the U.S.
In his Saturday morning press conference, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told reporters that Congress was told of the strike after it happened. Rubio said "we called members of Congress immediately after. This was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on."
KMTV wanted to know if not going through Congress to capture the Venezuelan President was constitutional. We spoke with Creighton University Professor Michael Kelly, who's an international law expert. He explained that under the Constitution, the president can execute arrest warrants issued by a federal court when someone violates a federal law. Maduro and his wife are currently facing narco-terrorism charges.
However, Prof. Kelly said the arrest violates international law.
"This is not a war, but if it were in a war, Maduro is a legitimate target because he's the commander in chief," said Kelly. "But, the Geneva Conventions don't kick in here, and so, yeah, this is...This is problematic for President Trump."
Kelly also mentioned the same rationale was used when the United States captured former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on January 3, 1990.
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