Trump raised the idea of invading Venezuela
President repeatedly spoke to his aides and leaders in South America about using US military to oust Maduro
DONALD TRUMP repeatedly raised the idea of the US invading Venezuela in discussions with senior aides and the leaders of other South American countries, it has emerged.
The US president first made the suggestion in the Oval Office on Aug 10 last year at the end of a meeting about imposing sanctions on Venezuela.
The ongoing political and economic crisis in the troubled nation has disrupted regional security, and Mr Trump wanted to know why the US could not intervene militarily.
Those present at the meeting included Rex Tillerson, then the US secretary of state, and HR Mcmaster, then Mr Trump’s national security adviser.
Bob Baer, a former CIA operative, said the idea of a coup in Venezuela had been “in the air for a couple of years” in intelligence circles, and he suspected the president had “got wind of it”.
He said: “I understand Mcmaster pushed back, said ‘stay out of it’. It’s very sensitive in South America – US troops … overthrowing governments, is beyond the pale. Then again, Venezuela is a mess, and countries around it are scared. The situation is ripe for a change so we’ll see where it goes.” Mr Baer said Venezuelan exiles had been trying to “transmit a message” to the president and “he’s listening, clearly”.
Mr Mcmaster, and others, told Mr Trump that invading Venezuela would cause a backlash against the US across South and Central America.
However, Mr Trump still did not dismiss the idea, referring to the invasions of Panama and Grenada in the Eighties as examples of previous interventions.
The following day he spoke publicly about a “military option” to remove Nicolás Maduro as the president of Venezuela.
At the time, Mr Maduro responded by ordering military exercises and sending loyalist demonstrators on to the streets of Caracas. Mr Maduro’s son suggested that if his country was invaded, “we will take the White House”. The actions and rhetoric on both sides were widely regarded at the time as empty threats.
But Mr Trump’s contemplation of military action continued, and he then raised the prospect with Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian president, the Associated Press reported.
In September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he again discussed the idea with Mr Santos, and three other Latin American leaders.
Mr Mcmaster had another discussion with the president about the subject. He resigned the following March. Official US policy is that “all options” are available to help stabilise the situation in Venezuela. The US, along with Canada and the European Union, has already put sanctions on senior Venezuelan officials, including Mr Maduro, over allegations of corruption.
Mr Maduro has long accused the US of having military designs on Venezuela’s oil reserves.
A US official said there had never been any “imminent plans” for a military strike, and Mr Trump had been “thinking out loud”.