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The military offensive by the Donald Trump administration in Venezuela has raised alarms in the United States Congress.
During a briefing with senior officials from the White House earlier this week, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer sought clear assurances that the administration is not considering expanding its operations to other countries in the region.
He mentioned two in particular: Cuba and Colombia. The response he received was not reassuring.
“I asked for assurances that they were not planning operations in other countries, and I mentioned some of those you have mentioned, including Colombia and Cuba, and their response disappointed me greatly, greatly,” Schumer stated to the media after the meeting.
Although he did not provide details on what the officials said, his reaction made it clear that the possibility of new military actions is not ruled out by the Republican administration.
An informational session without clear answers
The meeting with officials from the White House, held behind closed doors and attended by both Houses of Congress, aimed to explain the details of the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, which culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The session was attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth; Attorney General Pam Bondi; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, took the opportunity to raise a concern that was beginning to gain traction in the halls of the Capitol: Are there other countries on the Pentagon's radar?
His concern was direct and precise, but the lack of a convincing response only increased the confusion.
“I felt very dissatisfied when I asked them if they were considering entering other countries. It was truly concerning,” the senator confessed.
Schumer lamented that the Administration did not provide "any real response" regarding future plans, not even about the current deployment in Venezuela.
"I asked four simple questions. How many American soldiers are we going to send to Venezuela? They don’t know. How long are we going to govern Venezuela? They don’t know. How much is this going to cost? They don’t know that either. Which country will be next? It remains unknown," he summarized before the press.
The senator's words contribute to an atmosphere of increasing diplomatic tension, fueled by recent statements from Trump in which he does not rule out intervention in Colombia and directly attacks President Gustavo Petro.
For Schumer and other legislators, the lack of clarity in the Executive's plans poses a risk not only to regional stability but also to democratic control over decisions related to war.
Trump hints at operation in Colombia: “Sounds good to me”
Schumer's concern was amplified by President Trump's comments on Sunday, just a day after the intervention in Venezuela.
When asked by journalists about a possible similar operation in Colombia, the president replied straightforwardly: "Sounds good to me."
Trump went further by directly referring to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom he described as "a sick man who enjoys making cocaine and selling it to the United States."
He also added, “He better watch himself,” in a veiled threat that has been interpreted as a serious escalation of tensions between Bogotá and Washington.
These statements, made aboard Air Force One, have sparked strong backlash from Colombia and fueled speculation about a potential U.S. military operation on Colombian soil.
The Colombian government responds: "A repeated aggression."
From the Casa de Nariño, the Colombian Executive responded firmly to Trump's threats.
In a joint statement read by the director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (DAPRE), Angie Rodríguez, the cabinet ministers expressed their support for President Petro and condemned what they described as a "repeated aggression and threat" from the United States government.
The document warns that Trump's actions not only affect the Colombian president but also compromise fundamental principles of international law and the coexistence of sovereign nations.
The Colombian government attributed the rising tensions to Petro's international role in defending multilateralism, national sovereignty, the Palestinian cause, the fight against climate change, and world peace.
Cuba, in the shadow of the threat
Although Cuba has not been the target of such direct statements as those made against Colombia, its name was explicitly mentioned by Schumer when requesting guarantees of non-intervention.
The lack of response from the U.S. Executive has also raised alarms about the possibility that the island may become the target of future operations.
In the past, Trump has repeatedly linked Cuba to the Maduro government and to drug trafficking networks such as the Cartel of the Suns, designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Under the same pretext—the fight against drug trafficking—the military operation was carried out in Venezuela.
From Congress, some lawmakers warn that the narrative of national security could extend to other countries in the region, particularly those that have maintained critical positions against Washington's foreign policy.
The operation in Venezuela: Kidnapping, trial, and international condemnation
Last Saturday, U.S. forces launched a surprise military operation in Venezuela, impacting areas of Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.
The intervention culminated in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who were taken to New York under custody.
The Venezuelan government characterized the events as a "serious military aggression" and denounced that the true aim of the attack was to seize the country's strategic resources, such as oil and minerals.
Maduro was presented on Monday before a court in the Southern District of New York, where he pleaded not guilty to several charges, including narcoterrorism offenses.
In her absence, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of acting president.
The international community has reacted with concern. Countries like Russia have demanded Maduro's release and condemned the operation.
"Venezuela must have the right to decide its destiny without any external intervention," the Russian government stated in a press release.
An uncontrolled foreign policy?
The White House has justified intervention in Venezuela as a necessary step to protect the security of the United States, indicating that the majority of the drugs entering the country are believed to originate from that South American nation.
In recent months, the U.S. Navy has reported the sinking of alleged "narco boats" and the execution of nearly a hundred suspected drug traffickers during operations in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
But for Schumer and other senators, the danger lies in the absence of a coherent and transparent plan. The concern is not only about the escalation of military actions but also the precedent set when the Executive acts without consulting Congress or the international system.
"They think they can take the first step, overthrow Maduro, and they have no idea what the steps from 2 to 10 will be," warned Schumer.
"That concerns all of us a lot," he added.
And amidst that confusion, one question remains unanswered: Which country will be next?
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