BATON ROUGE — Louisiana leaders expressed their opinions on President Donald Trump's strike on Venezuela that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday.

Several state leaders expressed their support following Trump's address to the nation, where he claimed the U.S. will 'run' Venezuela until a safe transition of power can take place, while also investing in the oil infrastructure of Venezuela 

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson shared a post that read, "Today's military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives." Johnson went on to claim that Maduro was allegedly responsible for "the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans."

I have spoken in the last several hours with @SecRubio and @SecWar Hegseth, and the nation will hear from @POTUS in his address at 11am ET.

Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives.

Nicolas Maduro is…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 3, 2026

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, also shared his support, writing, "With over 100k opioid-related deaths annually, I am grateful to see a President finally take real action in the war on drugs."

Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow expressed her support in a post saying, "Whether it’s street gangs or dictators, President Trump will not allow traffickers to flood American communities with deadly drugs without accountability. The days of America looking the other way on narco-terrorism are over."

Senator Bill Cassidy, also a Republican, shared how he believed Maduro was allegedly involved in transnational criminal organizations.

"This targeted extraction addresses U.S. national security concerns," he wrote in a post. "Cuba is heavily reliant upon Venezuelan oil. Nicaragua has also benefited from the Maduro government. These two dominoes might fall without the U.S. doing any more."

As Secretary Rubio has pointed out, Maduro is not the elected head of Venezuela. He stole the election. He has been heavily involved with transnational criminal organizations, drug running, and Iran-backed terrorists like Hezbollah. This targeted extraction addresses U.S.…

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) January 3, 2026

House Majority Leader Republican Steve Scalise shared his support for the strike, writing, "Today, President Trump continued to take decisive action to put America first and protect the American people by pursuing an arrest warrant for Maduro and his wife." 

Louisiana Attorney General Republican Liz Murrill wrote that Maduro's capture "sends a clear message: if you traffic poison into our country and kill Americans, you will face justice."

However, not all Louisiana leadership agreed with Trump's strike on Venezuela. 

Democratic Congressman Troy Carter shared his disapproval, writing, "Trump’s military actions against Venezuela last night were unconstitutional. Period. This was reckless and risked American lives with no plan for the aftermath."

Carter went on to say, "The Constitution is clear. The power to authorize the use of military force rests with Congress. No president, regardless of party, may bypass that responsibility. Acting without congressional authorization is not strength. It is recklessness, and it places American lives at unnecessary risk."