Thread by @HouseForeign

🧵A THREAD:
Chairman @RepEliotEngel: The failed May 3rd raid in #Venezuela looked like a bad Jack Ryan episode, but it’s no laughing matter. Anything that further delays a democratic transition is truly heartbreaking for the #Venezuelan people. (1/8)

The best and only way forward is full and complete transparency about the raid, so we can focus on what really matters – alleviating Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis and paving the way for a return to democracy. (2/8)

Last Tuesday, @HouseForeign asked the @StateDept to provide our staff with an immediate briefing on the failed raid. A week later, the Committee still has not received this briefing nor any indication of if/when it will take place. (3/8)

In the meantime, @SecPompeo says the U.S. had no “direct involvement” in the #Venezuela raid. He claims that the U.S. did not “direct” “guide” or “lead” the failed effort but has provided no further details. (4/8)

Congress needs answers, and we need them now. We need to know if U.S. laws were broken by American citizens and companies and whether any element of the U.S. government was aware of what was taking place. (5/8)

We need to know if press reports are accurate that military equipment used in the failed raid was acquired from a U.S. company since it would require a license to be taken out of the United States. (6/8)

Last but not least, we need information on each and every one of the private security contractors that held meetings in the U.S. related to a potential raid in Venezuela, and we need to know if the Trump Administration was aware of these interactions. (7/8)

The sooner these questions about the failed raid are answered by the Trump Administration, the better. We must get to the bottom of what happened and return to the crucial business of supporting the democratic aspirations of the #Venezuelan people. (8/8)