WASHINGTON

The US Senate’s top Democrat on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump’s newly announced policy toward Venezuela, warning that it risks escalating into military conflict without clear objectives or congressional oversight.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned what Trump described as a “total and complete” blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, calling it "another dangerous move" lacking transparency and strategy.

"Donald Trump has offered precisely zero explanation — zero —to the American people for what he's trying to accomplish in the Caribbean. Most Senate Republicans, meanwhile, appear to have no interest in doing any congressional oversight in a serious way of the administration's military buildup," he said.

His remarks came a day after Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, branding the Maduro government a “foreign terrorist organization.”

Schumer said Congress has not held serious public hearings on the potential for military conflict off Venezuela’s coast, nor has it heard public testimony from defense officials outlining the administration’s goals.

"Where are Senate Republicans? Where's the oversight?" he asked.

"The purpose of hearings is to challenge an administration when it may well be going off course, and they certainly seem to be going off course in Venezuela."

The New York Democrat warned that the administration’s shifting rhetoric and lack of clear limits raise fears of a prolonged conflict.

"I've asked some of our leaders, where is the limit to how far they will go? No answer. Could this be getting us into an endless war? The American people fear that, above most other things, maybe all things. That's why we need oversight, and the Senate Republicans are nowhere," Schumer said.

- 'No oversight, no plan, no discussion'

On Tuesday's closed-door briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Schumer described it as "utterly disappointing."

"The administration walked into the room totally empty handed. They gave us no real answers about what the objective is in the Caribbean," he said.

Following the meeting, Hegseth told reporters that his department is not going to release "a top-secret, full, unedited" video of the controversial second Sept. 2 strike on the survivors of the first attack on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela.

Schumer said "the same lack of transparency that’s affecting the September 2 video is affecting our whole policy in the Caribbean and with Venezuela."

"No oversight, no plan, no discussion with either the Senate, the House or the American people. That's what leads to trouble. Big trouble."

Schumer emphasized that the president does not have the authority to use military force in the Caribbean without congressional approval.

“Let’s be very clear: Donald Trump does not have the authority to use military force to carry out his current plans in the Caribbean without authorization from Congress,” he said.

He warned that if the administration proceeds without such authorization, the Senate is prepared to act.

“If Trump acts without congressional authorization, the Senate stands ready with a bipartisan resolution led by Senator (Tim) Kaine, myself, Senators (Rand) Paul, and (Adam) Schiff, preventing the unauthorized use of force,” Schumer said.