House Republicans Tie Trump’s Venezuela Move to Potential Collapse of Iran and Other Dictatorships
Several House Republicans recently stated that President Donald Trump’s strike against Venezuela and the subsequent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for drug trafficking charges have emboldened opponents of the Iranian regime to maintain protests despite significant challenges.
Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., said, “If you’re demonstrating in Iran, you have to be interested in what happened in Venezuela—and not just Iran, but China and Russia must all be paying close attention to Venezuela.”
Kustoff predicted that the seizure of Maduro was “a master-class extradition” and that “we may be seeing a new day politically and regime-wise in Iran. I’m sure the Iranians appreciated our president making a strong statement regime-wise in Venezuela.”
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., went further, suggesting there could be a “next ‘domino effect’ on dictatorships” similar to the fall of the Soviet Union following Ronald Reagan’s policies.
Meuser added that Trump’s policy could lead to the “fall of dictatorships,” including Iran, Cuba, and Colombia. He stated, “We need to be as proactive as we can, keep sanctions high, and dissuade other countries from getting oil from Iran. [Former President] Biden ended more sanctions—had he not done so, Iran could have achieved freedom more rapidly.”
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said that when the United States had the chance to support dissidents in Iran during the 2009 protests against a rigged presidential election, “they collapsed.” He added, “Had we acted, we’d have a different Iran. Trump’s Venezuela strike showed leadership and where we stand—now in Iran, we need to let people know we stand with them.”
