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As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluded, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With a fast unraveling Venezuela threatening regional security, Why Can not the US Just Invade the Country?
The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser HR McMaster, both of whom have left the administration. This account of the previously undisclosed conversation comes from a senior administration official familiar with what
In an exchange that lasted five minutes, McMaster and others took Latin American governments to punish President Nicholas Maduro for taking Venezuela down the path of dictatorship, according to the official. The Trustees of the United States of America
Purpose Trump pushed back. Although he gave no indication he was about to order military shots, he pointed to the fact that he was a successful gunboat diplomacy in the region, according to the official, like the invasions of Panama and Grenada in the 1980s.
The idea, despite his help,
Public remarks
The next day, Aug. 11, Trump alarmed friends and foes alike with talk of a "military option" to remove Maduro from power. The public remarks were originally dismissed in the United States of America.
But shortly afterward, he raised the issue with Colombian President Juan Santos Manuel, according to to the US official. Two high-ranking Colombian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid antagonizing Trump confirmed the report
Then in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trump discussed it again, this time at greater length, in a private Latin American allies that included Santos, the same three people said, and Politico reported in February.
The US official said Trump was specifically briefed to the issue and told it would not play well, but first thing the president said at the dinner was, "My staff told me not to say this."
Eventually, McMaster would be likely to be a victim of the invasion of the dangers of an invasion, the official said.
Top Trump attention [19659003] Taken together, the behind-the-scenes talks, the extent of which has been reported, highlight how Venezuela's political and economic crisis has been unimaginable in the Obama administration. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> But a National Security Council spokesman reiterated that the U.S. will consider all options at its disposal to help restore Venezuela's democracy and stability. Under Trump's leadership, the U.S., Canada and the European Union have toughened sanctions on top of Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself, over allegations of corruption, and drug trafficking and human rights abuses. The US has also distributed more than $ 30 million to help Venezuela's neighbors absorb an influx of more than 1 million migrants who have fled the country.
Boost for Maduro
Trump's bellicose talk provided by the unpopular leader with an immediate if short-lived boost as he was trying to escape blame for widespread food shortages and hyperinflation. Within days of the president's talk of a military option, Maduro filled the streets of Caracas with condemn "Emperor" Trump's belligerence, ordered up nationwide military exercises and threatened with arresting opponents he said were plotting his overthrow with the US
Wednesday, Maduro cited the AP's article to reaffirm its long-standing claims that the US has military designs on Venezuela and its vast oil reserves. At a military promotion ceremony in Caracas, he called the troops to remain vigilant, criticizing what he called the "supremacist and criminal vision of those who govern the US"
"A military intervention on the part of the US empire will never be A solution to Venezuela's problems, "he said.
Even some of the staunchest US allies were forced to side with Maduro in condemning Trump's saber rattling. Santos, a big backer of U.S. attempts to isolate Maduro, said an invasion would have zero support in the region. The Mercosur trade bloc, which includes Brazil and Argentina, issued a statement saying "the only acceptable means of promoting democracy and dialogue" and repudiating "any option that implies the use of force."
Purpose among Venezuela's beleaguered opposition movement , 1965, pp. 19659003] Experts: Invasion not enough
A few weeks after Trump's public comments, Harvard Economics Professor Ricardo Hausmann, a Venezuelan planning minister, wrote a syndicated column titled "D Day Venezuela," in which he called for a "coalition of the willing" made up of regional powers and the US to step up and support militarily a government appointed by the opposition-led national badembly. [19659003] Mark Feierstein, who oversaw Latin America on the National Security Council during the Obama administration, said that strident US action on Venezuela, however commendable, wo do not hesitate to go to Maduro's grip on power. However, he thinks that they have become largely victimized by protests in the past, and the threat of repression of dozens of deaths.
"People inside and outside the government know they can not ignore plenty of what Trump says, "Feierstein, who is now a senior adviser at the Albright Stonebridge Group, said of Trump's talk of Venezuela's military invasion. "The concern is that it raised expectations among Venezuelans, many of whom are waiting for an external actor to save them."
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