Schumer Slams Trump Venezuela Arrest After Mocking Policy in 2020
Nearly six years ago, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., delivered a Senate floor speech attacking President Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address, criticizing the administration’s Venezuela policy and arguing that dictator Nicolás Maduro remained firmly in power.
That criticism has resurfaced following the arrest of Maduro on sweeping U.S. narcotics charges under Trump’s second administration, with Schumer now warning that Maduro’s removal could trigger what he called an “endless war” in Venezuela, Fox News reported.
Schumer’s remarks in 2020 came one day after Trump told Congress that Maduro’s dictatorship would be “smashed and broken,” language the New York Democrat dismissed as empty rhetoric.
“Maybe his best metaphor was his claim to bring democracy to Venezuela,” Schumer said at the time. “There’s a big policy there. It flopped.”
“The president brags about his Venezuela policy? Give us a break,” Schumer continued. “He hasn’t brought an end to the Maduro regime.”
“The Maduro regime is more powerful today and more entrenched today than it was when the president began his anti-Maduro,” he added. “Same thing with North Korea, same thing with China, same thing with Russia. Same thing with Syria.”
Trump invited Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó to attend the 2020 State of the Union address, identifying him as Venezuela’s “legitimate” leader after the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared Maduro’s 2018 reelection illegitimate.
“The United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro,” Trump said during the speech. “Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalizes his people.”
“But Maduro’s grip on tyranny will be smashed and broken,” Trump added while pointing to Guaidó in the House chamber.
Schumer argued the following day that Guaidó’s presence in Washington rather than Caracas demonstrated the failure of Trump’s foreign policy.
Trump confirmed Saturday that U.S. forces carried out a successful military operation inside Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The pair was transported to the United States and charged in New York with narco terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Maduro and other senior regime officials were originally indicted in 2020 under Trump’s first administration for allegedly operating a large scale narco terrorism and drug trafficking operation.
Maduro denied the charges at the time and remained in power, with prosecutors expanding the indictment in 2026.
Maduro and Flores made their first court appearance on Monday.
News of the operation spread rapidly on Saturday, prompting backlash from Democratic lawmakers who objected to the administration carrying out the operation without notifying Congress.
Schumer accused the administration of violating international law and risking an open-ended conflict.
“Maduro is a horrible, horrible person, but you don’t treat lawlessness with other lawlessness,” Schumer said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
“They went inside Venezuela, bombed civilian as well as military places, and it’s a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress,” he added.
“The American people are worried that this is creating an endless war,” Schumer said. “The very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against over and over again was no more endless wars.”
Fox News Digital contacted Schumer’s office and the White House regarding his 2020 remarks, but did not immediately receive a response.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly dismissed Schumer’s criticism, accusing him of reversing his position for political reasons.
“Chuck Schumer’s Trump Derangement Syndrome is so overpowering that he will flip-flop on anything to attack President Trump,” Kelly said. “Even bringing narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro to justice.”
“THE CASE JUST TOOK A SHOCKING TURN” — The FBI has reportedly announced a major development in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance
Nancy Guthrie Still Missing: Dramatic New Twist – FBI Summons Mystery Woman After Chilling Discovery at the Scene
(Exclusive Breaking Update – February 18, 2026 | Tucson, Arizona)
The case of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has just taken a turn that has left investigators—and the entire nation—reeling.
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In the past hour, multiple law enforcement sources close to the investigation have confirmed to reporters: the FBI has issued an urgent summons for a woman to appear for immediate questioning after authorities discovered a piece of physical evidence described as “critically important” during a follow-up examination of the crime scene or adjacent areas late yesterday.
The woman in question is not a member of the Guthrie family, not one of the individuals previously detained during last week’s high-profile SWAT raid, and not someone previously flagged in any public tip line. Her sudden emergence into the spotlight is the direct result of something found that was serious enough to force federal agents to act without hesitation.
What exactly was discovered remains under tight wraps. Sources would only characterize it as “physical evidence of substantial investigative value” — something that could potentially reshape the entire narrative of what happened in the early morning hours of February 1, when:
– A masked intruder deliberately blocked the doorbell camera at 1:47 a.m. using yard brush.
– Nancy’s pacemaker wireless signal flatlined at 2:28 a.m.
– Blood confirmed as hers was left on the front porch.
This latest development arrives amid a painful series of setbacks and dead ends:
– Last Friday’s massive federal raid ~2 miles from Nancy’s Catalina Foothills home: SWAT teams, FBI agents, forensics vans everywhere. A gray Range Rover towed away. Multiple people detained and questioned. Everyone released. No charges. No Nancy.
– The black glove breakthrough: DNA from the glove (visually matching those worn by the suspect in surveillance video) was rushed into CODIS — only for Sheriff Chris Nanos to announce yesterday: no match in the national database.
– Helicopter-mounted Bluetooth scanners continue to fly low, slow grids over the desert, desperately searching for any remaining trace of the pacemaker signal. No confirmed detections.
– More than 30,000 tips have poured in. The reward stands at $100,000. Fake ransom demands (bitcoin texts to family and media outlets) have only added cruelty to the family’s suffering. The real abductor has never made contact.
Now the focus has shifted dramatically to this unnamed woman. Is she a witness who withheld vital information? Did she cross paths with the intruder unknowingly? Or—most disturbingly—does the newly uncovered evidence place her in closer proximity to the night of the abduction than anyone previously imagined?
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has not yet released an official statement regarding the summons, but sources emphasize that she is currently being treated as a person of interest for information, not as a formal suspect. The FBI task force, still staged in Tucson, is reportedly prioritizing her interview while forensic laboratories push through remaining evidence from the raid and the glove.
Savannah Guthrie’s anguish remains raw and public. In her most recent Instagram post yesterday, she wrote:
“It’s been over two weeks since our mom was taken from us. We still believe she is out there. We still have hope. If you know anything—anything at all—please come forward. It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Outside Nancy’s home, the makeshift memorial continues to grow heavier: yellow flowers carpet the ground, ribbons flutter from every mailbox, the “Bring Her Home” banner is nearly buried under fresh handwritten prayers and messages. Neighbors say the entire Catalina Foothills community is holding its breath, praying, and refusing to give up.
Time is merciless. Nancy’s heart condition means every hour without her daily medications is a life-threatening gamble.
The next few hours — perhaps the next few minutes — could bring long-awaited answers… or plunge this already agonizing case into even deeper darkness.
Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Pima County Sheriff’s tip line immediately. The $100,000 reward remains in full effect.
This is a rapidly unfolding story. We will continue to update as more information becomes available.
What do you think this mystery woman knows?
Is this the breakthrough the investigation has been desperately seeking… or yet another heartbreaking false lead?
Share your theories, prayers, and support for the Guthrie family in the comments below. Nancy is still waiting.
