Top officials in Mississippi are weighing in on the U.S. military’s strike in Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
The U.S. hit the South American country with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday morning, the White House confirmed. Maduro – who President Donald Trump’s administration has referred to as an “illegitimate” dictator and a “narco-terrorist” – and his wife were taken from their home and are being transported to New York, where Maduro faces criminal charges related to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
Republicans and Democrats, both in Mississippi and nationally, are mostly split on the attack. While those within the GOP like Senate Armed Forces Committee chair Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) back Trump on the move, officials on the Democratic side like former House Homeland Security Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) have decried it as unjustified and illegal.
“Today, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave individuals who were able to accomplish such a daring operation,” Wicker said in a statement. “This arrest was the culmination of a monthslong effort by the Trump administration to degrade the narco-terrorist organizations that Maduro oversaw. The Venezuelan people must now act swiftly to put their country back on a path to peace and prosperity, which will redound to the benefit of all their neighbors.”
“To be clear, the illegal attack on Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs or terrorism – it’s about Trump causing chaos and trampling on the Constitution so he can claim more power and Venezuela’s oil,” Thompson argued on social media. “Republicans in Congress should hold him to account – but I fully expect them to do nothing.”
Meanwhile, other federal and statewide officials are beginning to go to social media to discuss the president’s actions. This article will be updated to show what they’re saying.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R)
Nicolas Maduro is a lawfully indicted narco-terrorist who has flooded American communities with drugs and dangerous gangs for decades. He will get his day in court and the American people will get justice.
— Lynn Fitch (@LynnFitchAG) January 3, 2026
State Auditor Shad White (R)
The Trump Department of War has built the most precise, lethal military in my lifetime.
— Shad White (@shadwhite) January 3, 2026
State Treasurer David McRae (R)
President @realDonaldTrump‘s actions were strong and decisive. Here’s ultimately why I support what he did: My wife’s family fled communism. Our family knows its horrors. Maduro was a communist dictator. 1/3
— Treasurer David McRae (@DavidMcRaeMS) January 3, 2026