Calls for President Donald Trump to be impeached following the administration's arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife grew louder on Sunday.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested by U.S. troops early on Saturday morning in the Venezuelan leader's palace and flown to the U.S. to face prosecution for narco-terrorism and gun charges. Flores and Maduro's son, Nicolas, are also named in the indictment, which the administration unveiled following Maduro's arrest. Following the move, Trump announced that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela for a transition period and didn't rule out sending U.S. military troops to the country.
The administration's arrest of the Venezuelan leader set off a firestorm of debate. Republicans mostly celebrated the move while people on the left called for Trump to be removed from office.
"Democrats need to grow a f------ spine and stand up to Trump, along with any Republicans that have a conscience," progressive congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh posted on Bluesky. "That doesn't mean strongly worded letters. This man needs to be impeached, convicted, and removed."
Philosopher and historian Emile Torres argued in his newsletter, "Realtime Technopocalypse," on Sunday that the arrest of Maduro should set the record straight about whether it's appropriate to label Trump a fascist. He argued that people have resisted that label because Trump appeared to be an isolationist.
"What a complete joke!" Torres wrote. "Trump has imperialist ambitions just like every other war criminal who’s occupied the Oval Office — though the ambitions of Trump 2.0 seem to be even more flagrant and egregious than those of past presidents."
"Trump should be impeached a third time for this illegal foreign policy blunder and the blatant corruption that motivated it," Torres continued. "Unfortunately, I suspect that Trump will get away with this just as he’s evaded justice for his entire adult life."
Other observers, like lawyer Cathy Gellis, argued that the move may be designed to benefit Trump.
"It seems pretty clear that Trump was trying to extort Maduro - probably in some way that personally benefited him - and when he didn't pay, Venezuela was attacked," Gellis posted on Bluesky. "When we do eventually have hearings, they should investigate these conversations. But in the meantime: plenty of basis to impeach now."
