Mamdani-linked Democratic Socialists demand Trump free Maduro from lockup - and send him back to power

The Democratic Socialists of America, the nation's largest socialist group with ties to left-wing leaders such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, published a lengthy rebuke of the U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, demanding he and his wife be returned to power as they face criminal charges on U.S. soil. 

"The Trump Administration has started an illegal war against Venezuela," the DSA published in a rebuke Saturday. "This is a nakedly imperialist war to install a US puppet government that will give Venezuela's oil resources over to US corporations and to force US hegemony over Latin America - the new 'Trump Corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine. This war is illegal both under international law and the laws governing the declaration of war within the United States."

President Donald Trump confirmed a successful strike on Venezuela Saturday morning in a military operation that did not kill any U.S. military personnel, did not damage U.S. military equipment, and yielded the arrests of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on sweeping narcotics charges. 

The dictatorial president of Venezuela, who was first elected in 2013, is accused of working with cartels and narco gangs in South America and Mexico to distribute millions of pounds of cocaine to the U.S. Trump had vowed to curb the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. while on the campaign trail. When he took office for his second term nearly a year ago, he imposed tariffs on nations such as China over deadly fentanyl or boat strikes in the Carribean targeting suspected drug traffickers from Venezuela.

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The DSA hit back in its statement, saying, "Trump's war has nothing to do with drug trafficking."

"There is no substantiated evidence that high-level members of the Venezuelan government are 'narco-terrorists,'" the DSA wrote. "Yet, the Trump administration is using this claim as the pretext for this illegal war. This is another regime-change war to steal another country's oil, just like the failed war against Iraq, and to crush any resistance to US imperialism. Trump's war will only impoverish the people of Latin America."

Trump called the strike a massive success over the weekend, celebrating to the media that Maduro and his wife were swiftly captured while commending the military for its execution of the operation. 

"The United States military is the strongest and most fearsome military on the planet. By far. With capabilities and skills our enemies can scarcely begin to imagine. We have the best equipment anywhere in the world," he said Saturday during a press conference on the strike. 

The DSA is supported by a handful of left-wing politicians and lawmakers. Most recently, longtime DSA member Mamdani rose through the ranks of New York politics and was elected mayor of the Big Apple in the November election. Lawmakers such as New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib are also prominent members of the left-wing group and have received its endorsement in previous elections. 

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The DSA listed seven demands following the capture of the dictator, including that Maduro and his wife be returned to Venezuela, "an end to the failed 'war on drugs,'" an "immediate end to the war," including the removal of all military presence in the "Caribbean and an end to any operations with intervention purposes driven by SOUTHCOM."

Maduro and his wife are being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Maduro is expected to be arraigned on Monday afternoon. 

"Democratic Socialists of America calls on the people of the United States to protest and resist this illegal war and to stand in solidarity with the sovereign people of Venezuela," the DSA added. 

Left-wing political leaders such as Mamdani have railed against the U.S. operation in Venezuela, with the newly minted mayor telling the public that he spoke directly with Trump following the strike. 

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"I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law and a desire to see that be consistent each and every day," Mamdani said Saturday. "I registered my opposition, I made it clear and we left it at that."

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor's office Monday morning inquiring if Mamdani supports the DSA's rebuke of the operation and list of seven demands, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

More moderate Democrats have also taken issue with the strike as unjustified and for failing to notify Congress ahead of the attack, while Republicans have for the most part backed the operation. 

"Nicolas Maduro wasn't just an illegitimate dictator; he also ran a vast drug-trafficking operation. That's why he was indicted in U.S. court nearly six years ago for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posted on X. "I just spoke to @SecRubio, who confirmed that Maduro is in U.S. custody and will face justice for his crimes against our citizens. I commend President Trump and our brave troops and law-enforcement officers for this incredible operation."