Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro clash over Maduro capture on ‘The View’

Since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, co-hosts of “The View” have been sharply divided, erupting in yet another argument on Friday.

The U.S. military and intelligence agencies worked together over the weekend to capture Maduro, in a mission called “Operation Absolute Resolve.” While Maduro’s reign was controversial, and was viewed by many as a far-left dictatorship, critics accused the Trump administration of overstepping its authority. Hostin has argued multiple times that this was an illegal “kidnapping” by the U.S. government.

The conversation got heated when co-hosts on Friday juxtaposed Maduro’s capture with President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland.

“Greenland is not owned by the United States, nor should it be owned. It’s not for sale,” Hostin said.

HOUSE DEM INTRODUCES BILL AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION TO BLOCK PRESIDENTS FROM BYPASSING CONGRESS

“Neither is Venezuela,” Behar replied.

“Neither is Venezuela, nor is its oil ours,” Hostin said. “Yet we went in, we took the president. I’ve called it a ‘kidnapping’ because I believe that’s what it is, and we took the head of state of Venezuela and take the oil, and are going to put – I think they’re going to put the money in offshore accounts. So how is that okay, but Greenland isn’t?”

Navarro objected to the comparison between toppling Maduro and acquiring Greenland, saying, “Let’s look at some facts. Venezuela is a dictatorship. Greenland is not. Denmark is our ally. Greenland is our ally. We have military bases and operations in Greenland. Denmark is part of NATO as we are, so we are part of one big alliance. Venezuela is a place where they kill, jail, and torture the opposition, where they repress human rights.”

“My point is, we cannot make an equivalency between Greenland and Venezuela. So let’s just not,” Navarro said. 

DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST CALLS OUT PARTY FOR ‘OPPOSE FIRST, THINK LATER’ RESPONSE TO TRUMP’S CAPTURE OF MADURO

After an intense back and forth about how the United States should handle Venezuela going forward and questions of legality, and Greenland, Navarro offered a final point.

While she said it is a legitimate question, theoretically, to question the legality of Maduro’s capture, at this stage it is ultimately a moot point. 

“The law should never be a moot point,” Hostin retorted.

“Well… Sunny, it’s theoretical. We already plucked the guy out, so right now we have invested billions of dollars and months – ” Navarro began.

When Hostin argued this was merely continuing “the crime,” Navarro challenged her directly.

“Well what do you think we should do – return him to Venezuela?” Navarro asked. “Return him? Is that what you think we should do?”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

When Hostin replied that Maduro should instead be tried in the International Criminal Court, multiple co-hosts argued that this group does not consistently enforce international law.