'Great powers don't act like that': Vance pushes back on criticism of Venezuela op; claims oil stolen from US

US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday defended Washington’s decision to launch military action against Venezuela, saying the country has long been linked to drug trafficking and has used seized American oil assets to support what he described as “narcoterrorist activities.”

His comments followed a “large-scale strike against Venezuela” carried out by the United States on Saturday. During the operation, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were detained in Caracas and transported out of the country as part of a coordinated effort involving US intelligence services and law enforcement agencies.


Rejecting arguments suggesting Venezuela plays little role in the global drug trade, Vance, in a post on X, said cocaine trafficking continues to be a key financial pillar for Latin American drug cartels.




“You see a lot of claims that Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs because most of the fentanyl comes from elsewhere. First off, fentanyl isn't the only drug in the world, and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela, or at least there was,” Vance wrote.

“Second, cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit center for all of the Latin America cartels. If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it), you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too!” the post added.

He also addressed concerns related to fentanyl trafficking from Mexico, saying the issue remains a priority for Washington.

“A lot of fentanyl is coming out of Mexico. That continues to be a focus of our policy in Mexico and is a reason why President Trump shut the border on day one,” Vance said.

Responding to criticism that oil interests drove the US operation, Vance pointed to Venezuela’s past nationalisation of American-owned energy assets.

“About 20 years ago, Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narcoterrorist activities,” he said.

Vance acknowledged concerns over the use of military force but argued that a decisive approach was necessary.

“Are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don't act like that,” he said, adding that under President Donald Trump’s leadership, “the United States is a great power again.”

Following the operation on Saturday, President Trump said Maduro and Flores have been charged in the Southern District of New York with alleged “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies” and will stand trial in the United States.

He said Washington would temporarily take control of Venezuela during a transition period. “We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We want peace, justice and liberty for the great people of Venezuela,” Trump said.

Trump added that the operation was intended to bring “outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice” and said US companies would work to repair Venezuela’s damaged oil infrastructure.