President Donald Trump's decision to arrest a foreign leader in a middle-of-the-night operation is as close to piracy as any president has gone, according to one analyst.
Last weekend, the Trump administration arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at the presidential palace in Caracas on narco-terrorism and weapons charges. The U.S. has flown Maduro and his wife to New York to stand trial, where the two have pleaded "not guilty."
Since arresting Maduro, Trump has said the U.S. will "run" the country and let oil companies make significant investments in Venezuela's future oil infrastructure. The move set off a firestorm of debate about the administration's long-term strategy, as some have pointed out that Maduro's underlings still hold positions of power in the country.
Iraq war veteran Paul Rieckhoff, host of the "Independent Americans Podcast" and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, went scorched earth on Trump's decision to arrest Maduro on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" on Tuesday.
"Can we just stop and say this is all dangerous, outrageous, ridiculous, and deeply un-American?" Reickhoff said. "We don't plunder, we don't pillage, we don't send our military in to take people's stuff. And this is breaking a very important compact that we have with our own American values."
"When American troops stand up for other countries, the only thing we ask for is a place to bury our dead," he continued. "We don't ask for their oil. We don't go in there to take their riches. And he is in direct violation of the very foundation of what this country is all about."