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'100% Illegal': Sunny Hostin Equates Arresting Maduro to ‘Piracy’ and 'Kidnapping‘
Monday was The View’s first day back after their winter hiatus and the daring arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro over the weekend had some of them in a tailspin. None more so than former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin, who proved why she no longer had that job. According to her, the Trump administration arresting Maduro and extraditing him the United States was a “kidnapping,” “100 percent Illegal,” and akin to “piracy.”
“So, while perhaps no one is going to miss a tyrant like Maduro, is this a legal thing? I mean, who voted for this? Who said, ‘hey, yeah, go on in there and do this?’” bloviated moderator Whoopi Goldberg.
On the matter of legality, Hostin pipped up immediately. Without evidence, chapter and verse, she claimed it violated the amorphous concept of “international law.”
Stumbling through her words, Hostin claimed what the U.S. had done was a “kidnapping” and tried to argue that the reason it violated “international law” was because Congress:
And international law doesn't allow it unless there is -- unless Congress declares war, and Congress did not do at. So, this country was founded on the premise of the balance of power. Right? So, you have a checks and balances. So, you have co-equal powers -- co-equal branches of power. So, you have the Judicial Branch and then you have the Executive Branch, which the president is a part of, and then you have, of course, the Legislative Branch and that's Congress. And they are supposed to check each other.
Sunny Hostin falsely claims the raid was "100% illegal" despite America having a warrant and the Noriega precedent. She cites unspecified "international law" (which doesn't exist), whines about the military killing Maduro's security detail, falsely calls it a "kidnapping" and a… pic.twitter.com/B8OXAr0UTL
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 5, 2026
“And in my view, this is completely, completely, 100 percent illegal,” she pouted.
Hostin really made a fool out of herself later in the segment when she tried to equate the arrest to “piracy.” She rhetorically clutched her pearls as she suggested the raid gave a green light for Putin or China to try something similar. Co-host Sara Haines countered and noted Trump could try to go get Putin. Hostin thought she was on the moral high ground when asking if they would be okay with that scenario and it blew up in her face (Click “expand”):
HAINES: Well, maybe the other could happen cause we’re talking about the democratic nations of Ukraine versus Putin –
HOSTIN: Who’s to say China won’t go and take Taiwan over?!
HAINES: Maybe Trump should go for Putin if we are being honest. It’s the dictators are the problem. But I think --
HOSTIN: But would you be okay with that?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: I would be okay with taking out Putin.
HAINES: I would be okay with taking out Putin. Absolutely.
Sunny Hostin equates taking Maduro to "piracy."
"Isn't anyone concerned about the fact that what we're doing is almost piracy. It's like imperialism. We're going to another country and we're taking their natural resources for ourselves. And on top of it if we can do something… pic.twitter.com/ysT2jtK9Rt
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 5, 2026
Despite being happy Maduro was out of power, co-host Ana Navarro hedged her comments by whining about how he was removed. She was unreasonable, as she demanded to know why political prisoners hadn’t been released just two day after he was arrested and the dust was still settling:
I know people that today are still political prisoners in Venezuela. And so, my question is if the U.S. is running the Venezuelan government, if the U.S. is running the policy, if they are telling Maduro's minions what to do, why in the hell are there still political prisoners being held in Venezuela today?
For what it’s worth. Navarro did answer Goldberg’s question of who voted for Maduro to be removed from office this way. “The people in South Florida, the Venezuelan community, the Cuban-American community, the Nicaraguan-American community voted for this,” she said.
In addition to saying the news “brought me to tears,” she argued: “I think you can criticize and ask questions and have concerns about the way it was done and what this means in the future. And I think you can still celebrate that this murderous, corrupt, sadistic son of a bitch is out of Venezuela."
Navarro demands to know why Venezuela hasn't been completely transformed two days after Maduro was captured: "So my question is if the U.S. is running the Venezuelan government, if the U.S. is running the policy, if they are telling Maduro's minions what to do, why in the hell… pic.twitter.com/ksEZURdfGD
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 5, 2026
While co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin was touting how the Venezuelans were brave to vote when Maduro was in power, Goldberg scoffed at them as she feared that more dictators could be on the chopping block (Click "expand):
GOLDBERG: Yes. Well, that's all well and good, but what happens the next time?
HOSTIN: Right. If Vladimir Putin wants to then go in and take and imprison Zelenskyy, is that okay?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, he's tried to assassinate him many times.
HOSTIN: But is that okay?
NAVARRO: What do you mean by next time?
GOLDBERG: My concern is if it's good for us to do, who else are we going to do it to?
Goldberg and Hostin’s Trump Derangement Syndrome was so bad that it had them defending dictators.
Whoopi fears the U.S. will remove other dictators like we did Maduro.
"My concern is, if it's good for us to do, who else are we going to do it to?" pic.twitter.com/Pf4papv9pS
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 5, 2026
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
January 5, 2026
11:03:56 a.m. Eastern
(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, while perhaps no one is going to miss a tyrant like Maduro, is this a legal thing? I mean, who voted for this? Who said, ‘hey, yeah, go on in there and do this?’ Because originally wasn't it we was concerned about the drugs coming in and out and yet he pardoned like a giant --
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Drug kingpin. Yeah.
GOLDBERG: Coke kingpin. So, what is this all about?
SUNNY HOSTIN: I can speak to the legal part of it. I think Ana can certainly speak to the geopolitics of it all. But it's not legal to do this.
GOLDBERG: Tell people why not.
HOSTIN: Well, it's not legal because it violates international law. Right? And this sort of represents this new un -- I mean, I've never seen it before. The president of the United States to kill -- I believe he killed -- the U.S. government killed over 100 people, including civilians and military in Venezuela during -- during this kidnapping and capture. And international law doesn't allow it unless there is -- unless Congress declares war, and Congress did not do at.
So, this country was founded on the premise of the balance of power. Right? So, you have a checks and balances. So, you have co-equal powers -- co-equal branches of power. So, you have the Judicial Branch and then you have the Executive Branch, which the president is a part of, and then you have, of course, the Legislative Branch and that's Congress. And they are supposed to check each other.
This president is doing whatever the heck he wants without any checks or balances. And I have never in my lifetime seen this type of regime change, which is what we just saw, work out well for the United States. It just doesn't work. And in my view this is completely, completely, 100 percent illegal.
(…)
11:10:29 a.m. Eastern
HOSTIN: And so, isn't anyone concerned about the fact that what we're doing is almost piracy? It's like imperialism. We're going to another country and we're taking their natural resources for ourselves. And on top of it, if we can do something like this, who is to say that Vladimir Putin, then, doesn't go to Ukraine and arrest Zelenskyy?! Who is to say that --
SARA HAINES: Well, maybe the other could happen cause we’re talking about the democratic nations of Ukraine versus Putin –
HOSTIN: Who’s to say China won’t go and take Taiwan over?!
HAINES: maybe Trump should go for Putin if we are being honest. It’s the dictators are the problem. But I think --
HOSTIN: But would you be okay with that?
FARAH GRIFFIN: I would be okay with taking out Putin.
HAINES: I would be okay with taking out Putin. Absolutely.
(…)
11:11:41 a.m. Eastern
ANA NAVARRO: I know people that today are still political prisoners in Venezuela. And so, my question is if the U.S. is running the Venezuelan government, if the U.S. is running the policy, if they are telling Maduro's minions what to do, why in the hell are there still political prisoners being held in Venezuela today?
[Crosstalk]
FARAH GRIFFIN: The Venezuelan people are very, very confident holding elections even under unsafe environments. I met Juan Guaido, the former opposition leader, they turned out in droves, tens of millions of people to support him, despite the fact they could have been jailed, they could have been imprisoned. They know how to show up for their rights. They have want this had for decades. So just hold an election. They know what to do.
GOLDBERG: Yes. Well, that's all well and good, but what happens the next time?
HOSTIN: Right. If Vladimir Putin wants to then go in and take and imprison Zelenskyy, is that okay?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, he's tried to assassinate him many times.
HOSTIN: But is that okay?
NAVARRO: What do you mean by next time?
HOSTIN: Is it okay to do that kind of thing?
GOLDBERG My concern is if it's good for us to do --
HOSTIN: Correct.
GOLDBERG i: -- who else are we going to do it to?
HOSITN: Yeah. Are we going to allow this type of thing?
(…)
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