Don't use force in Venezuela, Colombian leader tells Pence

VP doesn’t directly rule out military action

• Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Sunday he told U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence the U.S. must not even consider military action in response to Venezuela’s crisis.

Pence held a news conference Sunday with Santos after the two met here. Pence struck a balance between Latin America’s opposition to military intervention in neighbouring Venezuela, and President Donald Trump’s assertion that military action is an option.

Pence did not directly rule out the idea of U.S. military action. Instead, he emphasized that the U.S. will work together with many nations in their “neighbourhood” to pressure President Nicolas Maduro so Venezuela’s democracy can be restored.

Pence said several times, “but the president sent me here” to build on that partnership. Pence says, “As President Trump said a few days ago, we have lots of options for Venezuela.”

Pence greeted Santos at the president’s guest house in advance of talks planned later Sunday as he began a weeklong trip likely to be dominated by conversations about the crisis in Venezuela. The United States accuses Maduro of a power grab that has sparked deadly protests and condemnation across the region.

Trump said Friday he would not rule out a “military option” in response to Maduro’s moves.

That statement drew quick condemnation, including from the Colombian Foreign Ministry, which said it opposes any “military measures and the use of force,” and said efforts to resolve Venezuela’s breakdown in democracy should be peaceful and respect its sovereignty.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Trump, by raising the prospect of possible military action, was trying “to give the Venezuelan people hope and opportunity to create a situation where democracy can be restored.” Pompeo told Fox News Sunday that Venezuela “could very much become a risk” to the U.S. if it descended into further chaos.

Yet a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee who calls himself “a pretty hawkish guy” expressed skepticism about the idea of American troops in Caracas.

“I have no idea why we would use military force in Venezuela. I’m open-minded to a reason, but at the end of the day, our military should be deployed when there’s a national security interest that can be articulated to the American people,” South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham told Fox News Sunday, adding: “I don’t see one in Venezuela in terms of the military force.”

Trump’s national security adviser said the Trump administration wants to get a handle on the current situation under Maduro’s embattled government and “understand better how this crisis might evolve.”

“When you look at contingencies, when you look at what if — what if the suffering of the Venezuelan people increases by orders of magnitude — what more can we do with our partners in the region to protect the Venezuelan people and prevent an even greater humanitarian catastrophe?” H.R. McMaster told ABC’s This Week.

“The president never takes options off the table in any of these situations and what we owe him are options,” he said.

McMaster said the U.S. would “continue a series of actions against the Maduro regime that aim to strengthen the opposition and to reach out to those who are members of this oppressive regime to tell them it’s time to reconsider your actions and your support for this dictator.”

The U.S. has imposed sanctions against Maduro and more than two dozen current and former officials in response to a crackdown on opposition leaders and the recent election of a progovernment assembly given the job of rewriting the country’s constitution.

Venezuela’s chief opposition coalition issued a restrained criticism of Trump’s talk of using a “military option.” The coalition rejected “the use of force or threats of applying the same in Venezuela on the part of any country.” But the coalition’s statement didn’t directly mention Trump’s remarks.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY WE WOULD USE MILITARY FORCE ... I’M OPEN-MINDED TO A REASON.