Trump pressed aides on Venezuela invasion

As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluding, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With Venezuela threatening regional security, why can’t the US just simply invade the troubled country?

The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, including secretary of state Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR McMaster, both of whom have since left the administration.

In an exchange that lasted around five minutes, McMaster and others took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing support among Latin American governments to punish President Nicolas Maduro for taking Venezuela down the path of dictatorship, according to the official.

But Trump pushed back, the next day, on August 11, Trump alarmed friends and foes alike with talk of a “military option” to remove Maduro from power. The public remarks were initially dismissed in US policy circles as the sort of martial bluster people have come to expect from him.

But shortly afterward, he raised the issue with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, according to a US official. Then in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trump discussed it again with leaders from four Latin American allies.

Eventually, McMaster would pull him aside and walk him through the dangers of an invasion, the official said. AP

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