Venezuela crisis gains Pence’s focus
CARTAGENA, Colombia — Vice President Mike Pence, traveling Sunday in Colombia, tried to strike a balance between Latin American opposition to U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, and President Donald Trump’s assertion that military action is an option.
During a news conference, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he told Pence the U.S. must not even consider military action in response to Venezuela’s crisis. The two countries are important allies, Santos said.
“But since friends have to tell each other the truth, I have told Vice President Pence that the possibility of a military intervention shouldn’t even be considered, neither in Colombia nor in Latin America,” Santos said. “America is a continent of peace. It is the land of peace.
Let us preserve it as such.”
Pence did not directly rule out the idea of U.S. military action. Instead, he emphasized that the U.S. will work with many nations in their “neighborhood” to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro so democracy can be restored in that country.
Pence said several times that “the president sent me here” to build on that partnership. But he added, “As President Trump said a few days ago, we have lots of options for Venezuela.”
The vice president railed against Venezuela’s descent into crisis, saying, “the United States will not stand by” as democracy in the country “crumbles.”
Trump said Friday that 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 that efforts to resolve Venezuela’s breakdown in democracy should be peaceful and respect its sovereignty.
Pence said he’s confident a peaceful solution can be found.
Pence and his wife, Karen, were greeted by a military honor guard on the tarmac at Rafael Nunez International Airport, where they were greeted by the Colombian minister of foreign affairs, the U.S. ambassador to Colombia and the Colombian ambassador to the U.S., among other officials. Afterward, Pence met briefly with Santos at Casa de Huespedes Ilustres, telling him that Trump sends greetings and thanks for Santos’ hospitality.
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 said on 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 said on 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 said on 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 which 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 pro-government assembly given the job of rewriting the country’s constitution.
Adding to tension with the country is intelligence obtained by the U.S. last month that Diosdado Cabello, the influential former military chief and lawmaker from the ruling socialist party, is believed to have issued an order to kill U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Cabello has publicly feuded with Rubio, a fervent critic of the South American country’s government.
Though federal authorities couldn’t be sure at the time if the uncorroborated threat was real, they took it seriously enough that Rubio has been guarded by a security detail for several weeks in both Washington and Miami.
At a July 19 Senate hearing, the same day he was first spotted with more security, Rubio repeated his line that Cabello — who has long been suspected by U.S. authorities of drug trafficking — is “the Pablo Escobar of Venezuela.” In response, Cabello called the senator “Narco Rubio.”
The death threat was outlined in a memo to several law enforcement agencies last month by the Department of Homeland Security. The memo, designated “law enforcement sensitive” but not classified, was obtained by the Miami Herald.
The memo revealed an “order to have Senator Rubio assassinated,” though it also warned that “no specific information regarding an assassination plot against Senator Rubio has been garnered thus far” and that the U.S. had not been able to verify the threat. That Cabello has been a Rubio critic in Venezuelan media was also noted, a sign that federal authorities are well aware of the political bluster complicating the situation.
According to the memo, Cabello might have gone as far as to contact “unspecified Mexican nationals” in connection with a plan to harm Rubio.
The U.S. believes that Cabello controls all of Venezuela’s security forces. Rubio has Trump’s ear on U.S. policy toward Venezuela.
The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington declined to comment. Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication and Information said Sunday that it could not respond to media queries until today. Messages sent to some of Cabello’s email addresses were not returned.
Rubio declined comment through a spokesman. His office previously sent questions about the security detail to Capitol Police, which did not respond Saturday but has in the past also declined comment.
For years, U.S. authorities have investigated Cabello and other high-ranking Venezuelan government members for suspected drug smuggling, an allegation Cabello has denied.
Cabello, however, is not among the 30 Venezuelan officials whom the Trump administration has placed under financial sanctions.
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.
Meanwhile, Pence has scheduled other stops in Argentina, Chile and Panama, giving speeches and meeting with leaders. He will tour the newly expanded Panama Canal.
In Colombia, Pence is expected to highlight trade, business investment and other ties between the nations, including U.S. support for Bogota’s efforts to implement its peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a longtime rebel group.
The U.S. likely will seek assurance that Colombia is taking seriously a surging coca production that’s been blamed partially on Santos’ decision in 2015 to stop using crop-destroying herbicides.
A July report from the United Nations showed that coca production in Colombia had reached levels not seen in two decades, complicating Colombia’s efforts to make its vast, lawless countryside more secure.
The Trump administration has been putting pressure on Colombia to curb the flow of drugs into the U.S., and Colombia has stepped up its forced eradication program and increased seizures of cocaine.