Tucker Carlson said he was informed by a member of Congress that President Donald Trump will announce war with Venezuela tonight.
In an interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano on Judging Freedom, Carlson said, “Members of Congress were briefed yesterday that a war [with Venezuela] is coming, and it will be announced in [Trump’s] address to the administration tonight.”
BREAKING: @TuckerCarlson just told @Judgenap that Trump is likely to announce WAR w/ Venezuela tonight during his address to the nation. pic.twitter.com/DLGM51VcbX
— Christopher Leonard (@ChrisLeonardATL) December 17, 2025
During the Wednesday interview, Tucker did hedge his statement, saying he was unsure whether Trump would actually make the announcement, but his source was a member of Congress.
Trump is scheduled to address the nation tonight at 9 PM Eastern time.
If Trump does order the US to war with Venezuela, it will come after months of a massive military buildup in the Caribbean, the seizure of an oil tanker, and about two dozen strikes on alleged drug boats that killed nearly 100 people.
Congress has not declared war on Venezuela or otherwise authorized the President to conduct military operations against cartels, drug traffickers, or the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
The Trump administration has not disclosed what authority it is using to conduct the strikes against suspected drug boats or how it would be Constitutional to go to war with Venezuela.
The White House appears to be rolling out a propaganda campaign for war with Venezuela similar to the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003. On Monday, Trump designated fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. While Venezuela is not a producer of fentanyl, the White House has asserted that Maduro is responsible for lethal narcotics entering the US.
Additionally, on Tuesday, Trump imposed a “total and complete” blockade on Venezuelan oil, and designated Maduro’s government as a foreign terrorist organization. “For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” the President wrote on Truth Social. “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
