An old social media post by US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has resurfaced and gone viral after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by American forces, with social media saying that the comment “didn’t age well”.On January 25, 2019, Gabbard wrote on X, then Twitter that US must not intervene in the future of Venezuela: “The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela. Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don’t want other countries to choose our leaders, so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.” The post has now gone viral again, as Washington confirms a major military operation in Venezuela that led to Maduro’s arrest and the bombing of several parts in the Latin American country.Gabbard is a veteran of the Iraq war and has long opposed US intervention overseas. She has consistently argued against deploying American troops in other countries in the past. Her views put her at odds with both Democratic and Republican administrations that supported pressure, sanctions or regime change efforts against Caracas.During the political crisis in Venezuela in 2019, when the US backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó, Gabbard warned that American involvement would worsen instability and suffering for ordinary Venezuelans. She argued that foreign interference rarely produces democratic outcomes and often leads to long-term chaos, like in Afghanistan and Iraq.Her position was opposite to President Donald Trump, who described Maduro as “illegitimate” back then and said Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly was “the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people”. Trump openly backed Guaidó at the time and pushed for stronger action against Maduro’s government.Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna also criticised the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy in 2019. “The United States should not anoint the leader of the opposition in Venezuela during an internal, divided conflict.”After the latest US action in Venezuela, Tulsi did not immediately acknowledge the invasion as several political leaders did across party lines. Her silence was noticed by netizens, who called her out over her earlier position.
