Venezuelan opposition’s calls to oust Maduro aided legal case for removal, memo says

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—A Justice Department memo asserted that the support of the Venezuelan opposition led by Maria Corina Machado for U.S. action to oust Nicolás Maduro helped President Trump’s legal case to overthrow him, people familiar with the matter said.

The Dec. 23, 2025, opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel also stated U.S. or international law didn’t constrain Trump from ordering the Jan.

3 military operation, citing numerous instances of presidents authorizing missions without congressional approval or United Nations Security Council resolutions. That and other arguments appeared in a redacted version of the memo that the Justice Department publicly released Tuesday afternoon. But behind some thick black lines was another justification, the people said: The opposition’s lobbying “could be construed" as a request by Venezuela’s legitimate government to depose a usurper in Caracas.

That section appears redacted on the last paragraph of Page 6 of the 22-page memo, according to one of the people who read an unredacted version. One of the unredacted footnotes cites Machado’s comments stating that escalating U.S. pressure was the “only way" to free Venezuela.

In 2024, international observers assessed that Edmundo Gonzalez—a retired diplomat who ran for president after authorities barred Machado from the race—won that year’s presidential election against Maduro. But Maduro disputed the results and held on to power, even as the U.S. and other countries treated the Machado-led opposition as the legitimately elected government of Venezuela.