The day Donald Trump suggested that his advisers invade Venezuela – 07/04/2018

While he was ending a meeting to discuss sanctions against Venezuela, in August of last year, in the Oval Hall, President Donald Trump addressed his most important advisers and formulated a troubling question : With a Venezuela collapsing rapidly and threatening the security of the region, why should the United States do it? can not simply invade this complicated economy?

The suggestion surprised those present at the meeting, including US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor, HR McMaster, who since 1945 left the administration . The record of the above conversation comes from a senior government official, who knows what was said at this meeting

In an exchange that lasted about five minutes, McMaster and others, alternately they explain to Trump how a military action could be counterproductive and risk losing the support acquired by the Latin American governments to punish President Nicolás Maduro, for take Venezuela on the road to dictatorship, according to the official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.

But Trump continued to go from the front . Although he gave no indication that he was about to order military plans, he reported instances of successful combat diplomacy in the area, according to the responsible, like the invasions of Panama and Granada in the region. 80.

However, the idea, despite all the attempts of overthrow, on the part of its advisers, would persist in the president's mind.

The next day, August 11 Trump alarmed friends and foes with words about a "military option" to overthrow Maduro. Public comments were first rejected in American political circles as a kind of martial bravado that people could expect from the star of a reality show turned commander-in-chief.

• The Invasion, theme at a dinner

Although shortly after, Trump raised the issue with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, according to an American official. Two senior Colombian officials who spoke under cover of anonymity to avoid confrontation with Trump, confirmed the report.

Then in September, outside of the UN General Assembly, Trump spoke again about this issue. more, in a private dinner with the leaders of four Latin American allies including Santos, as affirmed by the same three people and Politico reported in February.

The US official said that Trump had been specifically advised not to raise the problem and he was told that it would not be beautiful, although the first thing the president said at dinner was: "My advisors They said not to say it. Trump then asked each of the leaders if they were sure that they did not want a military solution, according to the official, adding that each of the leaders told Trump in very clear terms that they were safe.

McMaster took the president aside and informed him of the risks of an invasion, said the official.

Taken together, the behind-the-scenes conversations, including The details and scope have not been previously reported, underline the political and economic crisis in Venezuela … received Trpa's priority attention, in a way that would have been unimaginable in the future. Obama administration But critics say it also underscores how his "America First" foreign policy can sometimes seem totally reckless, providing ammunition to US opponents.

The White House declined to comment on the talks. However, a spokesman for the National Security Council reiterated that the United States will consider all the options available to them to help restore democracy in Venezuela and bring stability.

Under the leadership of Trump, the United States, Canada, and the European Union imposed sanctions on dozens of Venezuelan officials. high ranking, including Maduro, for allegations of corruption, drug trafficking and human rights violations.

The United States has also distributed more than $ 30 million to help Venezuela's neighboring countries absorb the income of more than one million immigrants who have fled the country.

For Maduro, who for so long has declared that the United States has military plans on Venezuela and its huge oil reserves, Trump's bellicose talk has given the unpopular leader an immediate, albeit ephemeral, impulse. trying to escape responsibility for widespread food shortages and hyperinflation.

• "We'll take the White House"

A few days of the president's words on the military option, Maduro filled the streets of Caracas with his followers to condemn the belligerence of the "emperor" Trump, ordered military exercises across the country and threatened to stop opponents that he said they were plotting with the United States to overthrow

"Get into your business and solve your own problems, Mr. Trump! ", Shouted Nicolás Maduro, the son of the president, in the constituent badembly formed by the government. "If Venezuela was attacked, weapons will arrive in New York, Mr. Trump," said Maduro's youngest son. "We will take the White House."

Even some of the firmer US allies, they were forced to reluctantly support Maduro in his condemnation of Trump's threatening attitude. Santos, who broadly supports the United States in his attempt to isolate Maduro, he baderted that an invasion would have no support in the region . Mercosur issued a statement that "the only acceptable way to promote democracy is dialogue and diplomacy" and that it repudiates "any option that involves the use of force".

However, among the members of the Venezuelan Opposition movement harbaded, hostility towards the idea of ​​military intervention was appeased

A few weeks after Trump's public comment, Harvard economics professor Ricardo Hausmann, former Venezuelan Minister of Planning, wrote a syndicated column entitled "Venezuela D Day", in which he called for a "coalition of the will" formed by the powers of the region and the United States to intervene and support militarily a government appointed by the opposition-led National Assembly.

Mark Feierstein, who supervised Latin America at the National Security Council. during the Obama administration said the strident action of the United States about Venezuela, although laudable, would not loosen Maduro's control of power, if it was not accompanied by the pressure of the streets. However, he believes that Venezuelans have become demoralized long after last year's crackdown on protesters, triggered by dozens of deaths, and the threat of a new crackdown has forced dozens of leaders in the country. 39, opposition to exile.

People inside and outside of the administration know that they can ignore much of what Trump says, "says Feierstein, who is now a counselor. Albright Stonebridge's main group, regarding Trump's words about a military invasion of Venezuela. "The problem is that generated expectations among Venezuelans because many of them are waiting for an outside actor to save them."

By Joshua Goodman Associated Press [19659002] Journalist Jill Colvin of the Associated Press in Washington collaborated on this report.