CNN Analyst Calls Rubio’s Defense Of Maduro Raid 'A Stretch' As Legal Questions Mount

CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, strongly criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s account of the late-night operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

On Saturday’s CNN This Morning Weekend, Leighton said Rubio’s explanation — that multiple munitions used during the operation were dropped only to “protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant” — was “a bit of a stretch.”

Mike Lee said he spoke to Marco Rubio about the strikes. / Mike Lee/X

“It is definitely a stretch to say that this was the protection of law enforcement personnel to conduct this operation,” Leighton told CNN’s Victor Blackwell.

The administration’s justification became public after Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah tweeted that Rubio had called him to describe the early-morning action in Caracas. In the tweet, Lee quoted Rubio saying the “kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” and suggested the action “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”

Venezuelan authorities reported that bombs dropped during the operation caused an unknown number of civilian and military casualties. U.S. officials have maintained the strikes were intended to shield American personnel involved in the arrest, a characterization that Leighton and other observers questioned.

Marco Rubio (left) justified the military force by saying it was necessary to

Questions About Notification, Authority And Legal Risk

Senator Lee had earlier complained about the raid proceeding without Congressional approval. While the Constitution allows the president to order limited military actions, Congress must authorize a formal declaration of war and plays a central role in authorizing sustained or large-scale ground operations.

The raid and the apparent kidnapping of Maduro were reportedly known only to top military and administration officials. The White House did not brief members of Congress, including the Senate Armed Services Committee, before the strike; the committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

White House Chief of Staff said Trump would need Congressional approval to start a land war in Venezuela. Trump did not inform Congress of Saturday morning's attack beforehand. / Tom Brenner/AFP via Getty Images

In a widely reported Vanity Fair interview published in mid-December, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles cautioned that President Trump would need congressional authorization for a land war in Venezuela — a remark re-cited by critics concerned about the legal basis for the operation.

Charges Against Maduro And Context

Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, are expected to stand trial in New York on charges tied to allegations that Maduro led the so-called “Cartel of the Suns,” a loosely defined network the U.S. government says trafficked narcotics into the United States. U.S. prosecutors first accused Maduro of directing the trafficking operation in March 2020; in November the administration designated the Cartel of the Suns as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a move cited by some officials to bolster a legal rationale for removing him from power.

Despite international and domestic criticism and evidence that he lost Venezuela’s most recent election by a wide margin, Maduro had remained in power until the operation. Many legal, political and humanitarian questions remain unanswered — including full casualty details, the exact chain of command for the operation, and whether additional actions will follow now that Maduro has been captured.