Explosive footage has resurfaced showing Tulsi Gabbard, now President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, fiercely blasting U.S. intervention in Venezuela back in 2019—a stunning turn given her high-profile role in the administration that just toppled Caracas strongman Nicolas Maduro.

The clip, which reemerged after American forces seized Maduro on January 3, captures Gabbard—then a Democrat—slamming America’s history of meddling in foreign governments, claiming such campaigns had only devastated lives, drained taxpayer coffers, shamed the military, and put American safety on the line.

With the Trump White House tightening tariffs on Venezuela and the president threatening “all options,” Gabbard called the saber-rattling a grave mistake. “Venezuela doesn’t threaten the U.S.,” she argued, pointing out that Congress never approved military operations there. She denounced any attack on the country as a violation of its sovereignty, warning that such moves would blow up U.S. credibility around the globe—not least in the eyes of North Korea, which she said viewed these actions as proof talks with Trump were hollow, pushing Pyongyang to double down on its nuclear weapons.

Gabbard’s impassioned plea was clear: Washington should leave Venezuela’s fate to the Venezuelan people. Yet now, in the wake of Maduro’s 2025 ouster—something Trump openly aimed for years earlier—Gabbard has stayed mum, refusing to comment on the administration’s power move. The Trump camp defends its aggressive maneuvers by blaming Caracas for fueling America’s drug and migration woes. The former president has even hinted at big oil money set to pour into Venezuela, assuring reporters that energy giants are preparing major investments.

All eyes are now on Gabbard, a firebrand in Trump’s orbit who’s tangled with controversy before. Democrats have long criticized her ties to Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad. Syrian dissident Mouaz Moustafa once dubbed her a “devil,” citing her remarks that Syria’s bloody conflict was just another U.S.-led “regime change war”—a stance that raised eyebrows after she seemingly spoke up for Putin on social media, even as Russia pummeled Syrian towns. With Gabbard’s old warnings going viral as Maduro falls, the question remains: will she reclaim her anti-war stance, or toe Trump’s line?