Nearly three-quarters of Americans fear the United States will become too deeply involved in Venezuela following the military operation that captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and brought them to Manhattan to face federal drug charges, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday.
Only about a third of respondents approved of the action, and Americans were split along ideological lines over support for the military action.
The nationwide online survey of 1,248 adults, conducted Sunday and Monday, found that approximately 33% of Americans approved of the military strike ordered by President Donald Trump, with 72% saying they are worried the U.S. could become too deeply involved in Venezuelan affairs. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
The poll highlighted a stark partisan divide over foreign policy. Among Republicans, 65% approved of the operation, compared with just 11% of Democrats, and 23% of independents.
About 60% of Republican respondents supported deploying U.S. troops to Venezuela, a figure far higher than the roughly 30% overall support among all Americans.
The poll also gauged views on broader U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, with about 43% of Republicans backing a policy of "dominating affairs" in the region — a dramatically higher share than among other voters.
Despite the Republican tilt, partisans are not unanimous in their enthusiasm.
Even among GOP respondents, more than half expressed concerns about the financial costs and the risk to U.S. military personnel that could accompany sustained involvement in Venezuela.
Other surveys conducted around the same period also signal broad public skepticism toward expanded military action.
A Washington Post text message poll released Monday found that although roughly 40% of Americans approved of the U.S. capture of Maduro, an almost equal proportion disapproved, and a majority said any such operation should have required congressional approval.
The divisions over Venezuela reflect wider unease about U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.
Earlier surveys, including a Quinnipiac University poll released Dec. 17, found that 63% of Americans opposed U.S. military action inside Venezuela as tensions escalated under the Trump administration.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump's approval rating at 42%, the highest since October and up from 39% in December.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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