President Donald Trump’s campaign in Venezuela has drawn widespread backlash. The majority of the American population has opposed the U.S. military operation, and they have expressed their anger after the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The YouGov poll conducted for The Economist, from December 20, 2025, to December 22, 2025, which captured staggering numbers. The data showed that less than 20% of Americans saw the raid in Venezuela as a matter of national emergency.
In another question from the poll, 85% opposed the decision to use military force to invade Venezuela. Additionally, it was seen that the supporters of the Republican Party supported the U.S. military blockade of sanctioned oil tankers that were supposed to leave the Venezuelan ports.
These polls took place before Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro was captured on January 3, 2026, which was confirmed by President Trump. The news spread across the internet like wildfire, and the Venezuelan community residing in Doral, Florida, could be seen dancing and celebrating with their country’s national flag.
After US captured Maduro, many Venezuelans living abroad are very happy.
In Miami (Doral), people dance, wave flags, and celebrate freedom.
Inside Venezuela, streets are mostly quiet – some worry, some small protests. pic.twitter.com/RiAIaCiGLq
— Military Observer (@TheMilObserverr) January 4, 2026
Inside Venezuela, the situation was quite different as fewer protests took place, with the streets being mostly empty. Additionally, Maduro’s capture had led to feelings of discontent, especially among the Democrats. Senator Mark Warner released a public statement on his website, calling out the U.S.’s right to use “military force” and capture “foreign leaders.” He said,
“If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan’s leadership? What stops Vladimir Putin from asserting similar justification to abduct Ukraine’s president? Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it.”
Likewise, Marjorie Taylor Greene questioned in the move on X, asking if Trump’s actions were really saving Americans from “deadly drugs.” If that were the case, why has he not taken such action against Mexican cartels?
“Why is it ok for America to militarily invade, bomb, and arrest a foreign leader but Russia is evil for invading Ukraine and China is bad for aggression against Taiwan? Is it only ok if we do it?”
It’s a good point https://t.co/4HTuJTB4C6
— Paul Nuki 🦋 (@PaulNuki) January 3, 2026
Additionally, Greene called out President Trump for betraying the movement. She accused his actions of being nothing more than “a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies.”
The aftermath of the attack is surely raising questions, as the president sends threats to neighboring countries. Likewise, he has already sent a warning to Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s new leader, that she could “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she “doesn’t do what’s right,” as per BBC.
However, Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, appeared on several interviews (via BBC), defending the military operation in the South American country, saying the operation targeted only “against drug trafficking organisations.”
He kept the situation tense, reemphasizing Trump’s threat to Colombia and how military action against them “sounds good to me.” Rubio called Colombian President Gustavo Petro “a sick man,” and he will soon stop making cocaine to sell it in the US.
