Paul Blames Graham for Trump’s Decision to Seize Venezuelan Dictator

Following the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., has accused Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., of playing a central role in persuading President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. special operations forces into Caracas for the purpose of seizing Maduro.

Paul stated that the operation contradicts Trump’s long-standing opposition to regime-change wars and nation-building abroad.

“This is Lindsey Graham,” Paul said, adding that “Lindsey Graham has gotten to the president.”

Paul cited Trump’s past comments opposing regime change, noting the president has repeatedly warned such efforts often end in failure.

“I saw a clip — there’s like 20 clips — of [Trump] saying he’s not for regime change, and how regime change has always gone wrong,” Paul said. “Somehow, they’ve convinced him it’s different if it’s in our hemisphere.”

Paul expressed concern about what he sees as growing influence from more hawkish Republicans, particularly Graham, on Trump’s approach to Venezuela and broader foreign policy decisions.

Graham, who has consistently advocated for removing Maduro from power, voiced frustration last month after War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed senators during a classified briefing that regime change in Venezuela was not under consideration at the time.

“I want to know what’s going to happen next,” Graham said following that briefing. “Is it the policy to take Maduro down? It should be, if it’s not.”

After Maduro’s capture over the weekend, Graham celebrated the development and suggested broader consequences for communist regimes in the region. In a post on X, he wrote: “As I have often said, it is in America’s national security interest to deal with the drug caliphate in our backyard, the centerpiece of which is Venezuela. With Maduro’s capture, the drug caliphate is moving toward collapse.”