Democrat Sen. Ruben Gallego warned that President Donald Trump’s escalating aggression toward Venezuela could pull the United States into another costly foreign conflict, as the administration moves aggressively against the Maduro regime over oil, drugs, and national security.
Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and Iraq War veteran, appeared Tuesday on “The Weeknight,” where he blasted Trump’s decision to order a total blockade of sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of Venezuela.
The senator framed the move as a dangerous step that risks military entanglement under the banner of enforcement and deterrence.
“This is the Iraq War 2.0 with a South American flavor to it. They’re trying to do it right now,” Gallego said during the interview.
“I’m hoping this doesn’t happen, but I’m telling you right now, if you look at what they have down there.”
“All the assets they have down there, all the actions they’re doing and they’re taking, this is absolutely an effort to get us involved in a war in Venezuela,” he added.
Gallego tied his concerns to his own military service, saying the situation carries familiar warning signs.
“I’m a baby of an illegal war. I went to war in Iraq, a war that should never happen, that was illegal, that was fabricated, fabricated by people that wanted the war to happen. This is happening again,” he remarked.
The comments came the same day Trump formally ordered what he described as a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, dramatically escalating pressure on the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump accused the regime of funding terrorism, drug trafficking, and human smuggling using assets he said were stolen from the United States.
Trump announced the move in a post on Truth Social, saying the blockade would target all sanctioned tankers entering and exiting Venezuela.
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” Trump wrote.
He also declared that his administration is designating Maduro’s government as a foreign terrorist organization, citing what he described as a long list of criminal activities tied to the regime.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump posted.
“It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
The blockade announcement followed a U.S. operation last week in which authorities seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
The administration said the vessel was transporting sanctioned oil connected to Venezuela and Iran. Trump said the United States intends to keep the oil that was seized.
The administration has also rolled out sanctions targeting Maduro’s family members and Venezuelan-linked businesses, tightening the financial noose around the regime.
At the same time, U.S. forces have carried out months-long operations against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean.
Those strikes, which have resulted in dozens of deaths, have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties.
Trump has repeatedly threatened potential land strikes inside Venezuela but has not taken that step.
Earlier this month, Trump said he had issued an ultimatum to Maduro to step down from power or face further escalation.
Maduro reportedly offered to resign but demanded control of the military, a condition the administration rejected. The United States has also placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head.
Pressure intensified further after Trump designated fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction, as U.S. forces continued striking suspected drug vessels.
Since September, those operations have killed at least 95 alleged traffickers, according to the administration.
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Democrats have accused the White House of operating without adequate transparency. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed members of Congress on recent military actions tied to alleged drug boats.
Following the briefing, Hegseth said the Pentagon would not release full, unedited video footage from a Sept. 2 strike that killed 11 people.
“In keeping with long-standing Department of War policy … Department of Defense policy, of course, we’re not going to release a top secret full unedited video of that to the general public,” Hegseth announced.
Some Republicans pushed back, calling for greater openness. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said transparency would help dispel speculation.
“My default is always for more transparency, because if you don’t release it, then there’s more conspiracy theories and people wondering about why you’re hiding it, so that would be my preference,” Cornyn said during a television appearance.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina defended the strikes while also backing the release of the footage.
“Release it, make your own decisions. This is lawful. I have every confidence that what they’re doing is no different than what Bush did,” Graham said, referencing the 1989 invasion of Panama.
“Nobody in Congress accused the military leadership under President Bush 41 of being a war criminal for invading Panama without congressional authorization.”
Democrats left the classified briefings dissatisfied. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said lawmakers were given little reassurance.
“The administration came to this briefing empty-handed,” Schumer told reporters. “That’s the major question that we face. If they can’t be transparent on this, how can you trust their transparency on all the other issues swirling about in the Caribbean?”
Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said the administration appeared concerned about public reaction to the footage.
“Obviously, they have issues with what is in that video, and that’s why they don’t want everybody to see it,” Kelly said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also blasted the briefings, calling them inadequate.
.@PabloReports: Were you satisfied with the answers you’ve gotten so far in this classified briefing on Venezuela?
AOC: Oh, hell no. It was a joke. This was not a serious intelligence briefing. This was the communication of an opinion. pic.twitter.com/5rQpLMSv6F
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 16, 2025
“Oh hell no,” she said when asked if she was satisfied. “That was a joke, that was a joke.”
“There was not a single piece of intelligence that was shared that even rises to the level of any other briefing that we’ve seen on Ukraine, China, anything,” she added.
“This was not a serious intelligence briefing. This was a communication of opinion, and if this administration wants to go to war, they need to go get it from Congress.”
Sen. Chris Murphy said Rubio and Hegseth acknowledged during the briefing that the vessels targeted were believed to be smuggling cocaine, not fentanyl, and were headed to Europe rather than the United States.
I just came out of the briefing with Sec. Rubio and Sec. Hegseth on the military strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Here's what I learned.
Bottom line: there is no legal or national security justification for what they're doing. Not even close. pic.twitter.com/8gUU0sHKwu
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 16, 2025
“That is a massive waste of national security resources and of your taxpayer dollars,” Murphy said.
