SSDP Condemns Trump Administration Capture of Venezuelan President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kat Murti
Executive Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
SSDP Condemns Trump Administration Capture of Venezuelan President
On January 3rd, President Trump and the U.S. government conducted strikes on Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy, among other charges, in a federal indictment filed in a U.S. District Court.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) strongly condemns the Trump Administration’s January 3 military actions in Venezuela, including U.S. strikes and the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in connection with U.S. drug trafficking charges.
These actions did not occur in isolation. They follow months of escalation carried out under the banner of the War on Drugs, including deadly attacks on civilians in the Caribbean and the seizure of oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast. Once again, drug enforcement rhetoric has been used to justify violence, economic coercion, and the erosion of international norms.
SSDP categorically denounces the use of the War on Drugs as a justification for violence, mass incarceration, or the erosion of human rights.
Our mission is grounded in the understanding that the War on Drugs has failed — both domestically and globally. Militarized drug control strategies have not reduced drug use or drug-related harm. Instead, they have fueled instability, endangered civilian lives, weakened democratic institutions, and entrenched cycles of violence that disproportionately harm marginalized communities. Using military force or regime change as a tool of drug policy is not only ineffective, but profoundly dangerous.
Drug use and drug markets are public health and social issues, not military threats. History shows that treating them otherwise leads to predictable and preventable harm. International cooperation on drugs must be rooted in evidence, public health, human rights, and respect for international law—not unilateral force or coercive intervention.
While SSDP is not aligned with the policies of the Maduro government, we affirm that the political future of Venezuela must be determined by the Venezuelan people themselves. Foreign intervention justified through drug enforcement claims undermines national sovereignty and perpetuates the same punitive logic that has devastated communities across Latin America and the Caribbean for decades.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy stands with students, civil society, and affected communities throughout the region who continue to bear the human cost of the War on Drugs. We call for accountability, transparency, and an immediate shift away from violent, punitive approaches toward drug policies that prioritize public health, democracy, and human dignity.
Media Contact:
Kat Murti – kat@ssdp.org
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With chapters on campuses and in communities across the country, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is the largest national youth-led network dedicated to ending the War on Drugs. Our national staff, Board of Directors, chapters, and alumni work together to replace the disastrous War on Drugs with policies rooted in evidence, compassion, and human rights, at a grassroots level.
For more information, please visit: https://ssdp.org.
