Vice President JD Vance pushed back Wednesday against criticism from Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett over the U.S. operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, saying Crockett “doesn’t know what she’s talking about” and is an unsuitable spokesperson for Democrats on the issue, as reported by Fox News.

Vance made the remarks during an appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime, responding to comments Crockett made earlier in the week on The View, where she criticized President Donald Trump and questioned the legality of the operation targeting Maduro.

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“Jasmine Crockett, of all people, has the least amount of room to talk on this stuff. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Vance said.

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“As the president said, you couldn’t have a worse spokesperson, a person with less knowledge about world affairs. It’s telling that she’s the person speaking for the Democrats on this issue.”

Crockett, a Texas Democrat, appeared on The View on Monday and sharply criticized the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela.

During the discussion, she compared Trump to Maduro and suggested the operation undermined democratic norms.

“As we sit here on Jan. 6, I do want to be clear, somebody else was trying to be a Maduro of the United States. Somebody else wanted to do the exact same thing. The difference is Maduro was successful,” Crockett said.

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“I also want to point out that we now in the state of Texas and around this country are enduring this ridiculous redistricting scheme. Again, because he [Trump] doesn’t really believe in free and fair elections.”

Crockett also argued that the capture of Maduro was not about helping the Venezuelan people and characterized the operation as comparable to a “kidnapping” if a similar action were taken against U.S. leaders.

She warned that Americans would be outraged if another country carried out a comparable operation on U.S. soil.

Jasmine Crockett: "Somebody coming into the United States and grabbing our leader in the middle of the night and killing people in this country, I’m sure everybody would be outraged at them doing it that way”

Narrator: Nobody in Venezuela was outraged pic.twitter.com/uqNUyev0Kh — Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 6, 2026

Vance rejected that characterization, defending the operation as a lawful enforcement action backed by federal indictments.

“We engaged in a law enforcement action. We had a legitimate indictment from Maduro for narco-terrorism, for weapons smuggling and weapons trafficking, and we went in with the best military in the world, we got our guy, he’s going to stand trial,” Vance said.

“By the way, he is given the full due process rights that are entitled to anybody who’s in the United States. I think he’s going to go away. He’s going to be found guilty. That’s not a kidnapping, that’s a law-enforcement operation.”

VP JD Vance FIRES BACK on Watters! Defends capture of Maduro: "Law enforcement action, not kidnapping." Full due process is coming! He SLAMMED Dem Rep Jasmine Crockett as clueless on world affairs. Cartels ARE terrorists. Cocaine funds their ops, even if Americans "love" it.… pic.twitter.com/I5h3OswUDX

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 8, 2026

Maduro and Flores were captured over the weekend after U.S. forces carried out the operation.

Maduro now faces federal charges in the Southern District of New York, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons-related offenses.

The operation has drawn widespread national attention and sparked debate over its legality and broader strategic implications.

Crockett’s criticism reflects broader concerns among Democrats, who argue the action was unilateral and bypassed Congress. Similar objections have been raised by commentators on cable news and in liberal media outlets.

Supporters of the operation, including many Republicans and conservative commentators, argue the capture of Maduro was a justified application of U.S. law and a significant move against narcotics trafficking and authoritarian leadership in Venezuela.

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