Lourdes Ubieta, a conservative radio host from Miami, Florida and major backer of President Donald Trump, said recently that if it took sending U.S. troops – which may include her own son and cousin – to Venezuela to enact regime change, then the Trump administration should “go for it.”
“If to free Venezuela and for the best interest of the national security of the U.S., you need to do it, you go for it,” Ubieta told The Washington Post in its report published on Saturday, telling the outlet that she would support a full U.S. invasion of the South American nation as a last resort.
The Trump administration has aggressively escalated military threats against Venezuela in the past several months, starting with deadly strikes in September on suspected drug-carrying vessels that have killed at least 83 people.
Trump has also reportedly considered assassinating Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, has illegally closed the nation’s airspace, deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to its coast, and said recently that land operations would begin “very soon.”
For Ubieta, her pro-interventionist views were at odds with many in the MAGA base, a significant number of whom outright reject the idea of pursuing regime change in other nations. Republican strategist Steve Cortes argued that supporting U.S. military intervention in Venezuela wasn’t only not aligned with “America First” principles, it was directly anti-thetical to it.
“The most important pillar of America First is nonintervention. That’s the glue that holds the coalition together,” Cortes told the Post. “While Maduro creates instability for America, for all of the Americas, by no means is this some imminent threat that we have to take serious, tangible action to depose him.”
Other prominent Republicans who’ve long been strong supporters of Trump have shared Cortes’ sentiment, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who explicitly spoke out against enacting regime change in Venezuela this week. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke out against regime change in Venezuela as well, arguing that the America First “movement will dissolve” should Trump pursue military action in the South American nation.
But for Ubieta, nothing was more “America First” than toppling the administration of Maduro, even if it meant sending her own son and cousin to war.
“When you think of America First, you need to think of national security first, and the Venezuelan regime is a threat to our national security,” Ubieta said, speaking with the Post.. “There’s a lot of ignorance regarding the Venezuela issue.”