OAS chief eyes military moves into Venezuela

CUCUTA, Colombia — The head of the Organization of American States has joined President Donald Trump in holding out the threat of a military intervention in Venezuela to restore democracy and ease the country’s humanitarian crisis.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro delivered the sharp warning in a visit Friday to Colombia’s border with Venezuela in which he also denounced President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist “dictatorship” for spurring a regionwide migration crisis.

“With respect to a military intervention to overthrow Nicolas Maduro’s regime, I don’t think any option should be ruled out,” Almagro said at a news conference in the Colombian city of Cucuta. “What Nicolas Maduro’s regime is perpetrating are crimes against humanity, the violation of the human rights and the suffering of people that is inducing an exodus. Diplomatic actions should be the first priority but we shouldn’t rule out any action.”

Almagro has been Maduro’s most outspoken critic in Latin America, but until Friday he hadn’t been willing to go as far as Trump, who last year raised the possibility of a “military option” against Maduro. In several meetings with aides and Latin American leaders last year, Trump also discussed the possibility of a U.S. invasion of the South American nation.

Still, the prospect of a military intervention is bound to revive memories of the Cold War, when the U.S. gave backing to coups and rebellions.