• Kentucky senator says military buildup contradicts president’s previous opposition to regime change wars
• Administration has killed over 80 people in more than 20 strikes since September targeting alleged traffickers
• Trump announced plans to expand operations from sea to land “very soon”

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is sounding the alarm over what he sees as an unmistakable march toward war with Venezuela. The libertarian-leaning Republican told Fox Business Network on Thursday that the Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged drug runners in the Caribbean appears to be setting the stage for something far larger.

“I think the boat attacks are a prelude to an invasion of Venezuela,” Paul told anchor Stuart Varney when asked about the administration’s “huge military build-up” in the region. “I don’t like the idea of an offensive war, I don’t like the idea of regime change.”

A Trump Ally’s Pointed Criticism

Paul framed his warning by invoking the very positions that once drew him to support Donald Trump. The senator noted that Trump’s opposition to the Iraq and Libya wars was among the qualities he most admired about the president.

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“It’s really one of the things I liked about Donald Trump was that he was against the Iraq war, he was against the war in Libya,” Paul said. “He was against the war because often regime change leads to chaos, and great expenditures both in lives and in treasure. So I hope that’s not what’s coming, but it certainly looks like it’s a possibility.”

“I think there’s a broad consensus that it’s illegal to kill people who are clinging to wreckage.”

The senator has been increasingly vocal about his concerns, telling reporters earlier this week that he believes the strikes “go against all of our tradition” and constitute “extrajudicial killing.”

Escalating Military Campaign

The Trump administration has conducted more than 20 strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September, killing at least 83 people it alleges were trafficking drugs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the campaign aggressively, writing on social media that the strikes will continue “day after day” until “the threat to the American people is extinguished.”

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The military buildup has been substantial. The USS Gerald R. Ford, a major aircraft carrier, arrived in the Caribbean last week, representing the largest concentration of American naval power in the region in decades.

Trump himself has signaled intentions to expand operations beyond the sea. During Thanksgiving remarks to U.S. troops, the president said the administration would “start doing those strikes on land” very soon, adding that “the land is easier.”

Bipartisan Concerns Emerge

Paul is not alone in his concerns. He has joined with Democratic Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Adam Schiff of California to introduce a resolution blocking military hostilities against Venezuela without congressional authorization.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has also pressed for accountability, particularly regarding a September 2 strike that reportedly killed two survivors of an initial attack. “Somebody made a horrible decision—somebody needs to be held accountable,” Tillis said.

The Washington Post reported that a follow-on strike targeted survivors clinging to wreckage, sparking accusations of potential war crimes. The Republican-led Senate and House Armed Services committees have opened bipartisan investigations into the incident.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States of using drug trafficking as a pretext for regime change, telling his nation that “there is no threat or aggression that frightens our people.” The administration recently designated the Cartel de los Soles, which Washington alleges Maduro controls, as a foreign terrorist organization.

Will congressional opposition slow the administration’s momentum, or is military escalation with Venezuela now inevitable?

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