President Trump’s recent action in and around Venezuela has finally put American security back at the top of the agenda, and Republicans on Capitol Hill aren’t shy about saying it out loud. Representative Brian Mast — now leading the House Foreign Affairs Committee — publicly praised the operation as a decisive step that “protected the homeland,” a welcome contrast to the feckless posture of the previous administration. Conservatives should be proud that our leaders are willing to confront narco-regimes that have long menaced our southern flank.
The operation combined diplomatic pressure with a focused military and law-enforcement effort: a buildup of naval assets in the Caribbean, interdictions aimed at narco-trafficking networks, and new designations for criminal outfits tied to the Maduro regime. For too long Venezuela served as a safe harbor for drug cartels and foreign malign actors; today, America is reclaiming its neighborhood and cutting off the pipelines that flow poison into our communities. This kind of hard-nosed, results-oriented policy is exactly what keeps our children safe and our border secure.
Of course the usual suspects in D.C. and in the legacy media are outraged — raising legal and procedural questions as if inaction was ever the safer option. Let them clutch their pearls while families in Florida, Texas, and across the heartland worry about fentanyl and cartel violence; leadership means making tough calls to protect American lives. If calling out corrupt regimes and striking networks that funnel drugs, human trafficking, and terror into the Western Hemisphere is controversial in some circles, then good — controversy doesn’t stop bullets or block smugglers.
Representative Mast’s stance is rooted in real-world experience: a combat veteran who understands the stakes, he’s vowed to use his committee oversight to ensure the tools used to defend Americans are effective and accountable. Republicans in Congress should back that principle and give our commanders the political support they need, not the bipartisan hand-wringing that has paralyzed U.S. policy for decades. We need oversight that strengthens operations, not hearings that tie lawmakers in knots while adversaries regroup.
This is more than a policy win; it’s a restoration of the Monroe Doctrine in spirit — a clear message that the Western Hemisphere is not a playground for China, Russia, or rogue regimes to exploit. President Trump’s Western Hemisphere strategy recognizes that projecting strength close to home is the best defense for the American heartland, and patriots should rally behind it. Stand with our troops, with lawmakers like Rep. Mast who put safety first, and with any leader who puts America ahead of globalist timidity.
