The U.S. military action removing Nicolás Maduro from power divides Americans, and their views on it connect to what they think the U.S. goals are and what they believe comes next.

At the moment, most think the Trump administration is among other aims trying to get access to Venezuela's oil and expand U.S. power in the region — and when Americans think those are big parts of the goals, they tend to disapprove.

When people think the goals are a lot about stopping drugs, gangs and terrorists, they are more approving.  That view is largely voiced by Republicans, including MAGA Republicans, who think this action will make the U.S. stronger, and they give the operation overwhelming support.

Either way, that mix of perceptions is partly because most Americans say the administration hasn't clearly explained the U.S.' plans with Venezuela.

Looking ahead, the public expresses uncertainty about what happens now with the U.S. military and Venezuela. Those who think U.S. military involvement will be limited are more approving of the action than those who now foresee a lot of involvement. 

And the majority do not want to see the U.S. having a lot of control over Venezuela.

MAGA's views on Venezuela operation

Even more MAGA Republicans support the action now than supported the idea of it back in November.  

There are at least two reasons: one is that they overwhelmingly call the operation a military success, whereas other Americans frequently say it's too soon to evaluate.

Another is that they see more impact: MAGA Republicans are especially apt to say this will stop drugs, make the U.S. position in the world stronger, and get other countries in the region to cooperate with the U.S. 

Other Americans, by contrast, are more mixed on those implications.

For context, MAGA Republicans also overwhelmingly approved of the U.S. bombing in Iran last summer.

Impact of Maduro's removal from power on U.S. standing 

U.S. military and involvement from here

On balance, many more call the specific operation that removed Maduro a success than not, but nearly half feel it is too soon to say. That may depend on what they think happens from here.

Very few want the U.S. to have a lot of control over Venezuela now.

Most do not support further military action if Venezuela does not cooperate with U.S. interests. Nor would they back taking military action in other countries in the region if those countries are not seen as cooperating with the U.S. 

But Republicans stand apart here — particularly most of the MAGA base: Most would support further military actions in either of those cases.

In the region

President Trump 

Somewhat more people approve of the military action to remove Maduro than approve of the president's handling of the situation with Venezuela more generally; the latter tracks more closely to his overall approval, and his overall approval hasn't changed since before this action.

While they still don't give it wide approval, some groups do rate Maduro's removal a little more highly compared to how they rate the president's job performance overall. Hispanics are divided about the action to remove Maduro in the same split as Americans overall. Slightly more independents approve of removing Maduro than approve of Trump overall.

Congress' role

Looking at the role of Congress: just as before the action, when most Americans said Mr. Trump needed congressional approval for military action in Venezuela, so today do most Americans think Congress would need to approve any further military action there.

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,325 U.S. adults interviewed between January 5-7, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.4 points.