Alex Soros-backed U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, who is the son of ‘a convicted felon who trafficked drugs for the Mexican Cartels,’ faced widespread criticism from social media users and a public response from the Department of Homeland Security after weighing in on the Trump administration’s military strikes and ground operations in Venezuela that culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
🚨DEMOCRAT AZ US SENATE CANDIDATE RUBEN GALLEGO HAS MULTIPLE TIES TO MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS🚨
Radical Democrat Arizona Senate Candidate Ruben Gallego @RubenGallego held a fundraiser with Eric Holder @EricHolder and Susan Rice @AmbassadorRice tonight.
REMINDER
Eric Holder is the… https://t.co/gn6aOaMyv7 pic.twitter.com/atWu88mmVx
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 7, 2024
Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, according to reporting cited by The Gateway Pundit.
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President Donald Trump shared video footage of the strikes, which targeted at least four sites around Caracas, Venezuela.
I was 🤏 this close to black-pilling after Mamdani was invited to the White House…
Then, the day after his NYC inauguration, Trump drops Fortunate Son over video of us bombing the F* out of Communists.
Absolute masterclass.
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) January 3, 2026
Following the operation, Trump told reporters Saturday that the United States now controls Venezuela and said he was “going to run the country right,” adding that it would be run “very judiciously, very fairly.”
Reporter: Will U.S. Troops be on the ground? How will that work?
Trump: We are not afraid of boots on the ground. We had boots on the ground last night. We are not afraid of it. We’re going to run the country right. It’s going to make a lot of money. They stole our oil. pic.twitter.com/fSMU7zaEYq
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 3, 2026
Gallego reacted sharply after Maduro was arrested and transported out of the country without any reported American casualties. The Arizona senator characterized the operation as “embarrassing” and asserted that the United States was now “at war with Venezuela.”
Gallego condemned the operation as soon as it was announced, describing it as the “second unjustified war in my life time.”
“This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year,” Gallego said.
“There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”
I couldn’t hear you over the sounds of Venezuelans celebrating in the streets
— Jimmy Failla (@jimmyfailla) January 3, 2026
Here is Ruben Gallego and Alex Soros with their arms around each other:
Happy birthday to Arizona’s newly elected senator @RepRubenGallego! pic.twitter.com/vCah81oSPJ
— Alex Soros (@AlexanderSoros) November 21, 2024

His remarks drew immediate responses online, including from DHS, which issued a pointed reply highlighting what it described as irony in Democratic criticism of the operation.
“Oh so NOW Democrats are opposed to a Venezuelan criminal entering our country,” DHS wrote in a post on X.
Not just a democrat, a democrat whose father is a cartel member in jail for drug trafficking to the USA
— MICHAEL Murdock 🇺🇸🇮🇹 (@docmurdock) January 3, 2026
The exchange fueled additional reactions from social media users, many of whom criticized Gallego’s position and questioned his assessment of the operation.
Several posts focused on the nature of the charges against Maduro and the absence of American casualties during the strikes and subsequent ground action.
The backlash also resurfaced past reporting about Gallego’s family history.
Gallego’s father has been convicted of drug trafficking connected to Mexican cartels and was previously arrested in a separate incident involving the battery of a woman after a dispute with a landlord over rent.
According to prior public records, Gallego, who was born Ruben Marinelarena, changed his name in 2008.
As the debate intensified, other public figures joined the discussion.
Roger Stone posted comments attacking Gallego and his family, using inflammatory language directed at Gallego’s wife and asserting that Gallego’s election was rigged.
Stone also claimed that Gallego would eventually end up in prison alongside Maduro.
How’s your wife that you left for the coke whore? Won’t be long before an examination of the voting machines proves that you didn’t win. Perhaps you and Maduro can share a cell.
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) January 3, 2026
Stone’s remarks circulated widely online and prompted further criticism and counterattacks across social media platforms.
The controversy unfolded as Democrats and Republicans continued to clash over the scope, legality, and implications of the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela.
While Gallego and other Democrats argued that the operation exceeded U.S. authority and risked escalation, administration officials and supporters pointed to the successful capture of Maduro and the lack of American casualties as evidence of a decisive and controlled operation.
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