The Venezuela operation crossed unmistakably into war without congressional authorization, violating the Constitution’s clear requirement that only Congress can declare war. This was not a narrow security or law-enforcement action but an open-ended military intervention executed by executive fiat. Trump’s own statements about running Venezuela for years and seizing its oil strip away any remaining pretense of restraint or legality. When force is used at this scale and for these aims, congressional oversight is not optional but the last remaining constitutional check.