Trump repeatedly suggested Venezuela invasion, stunning top aides - report [View all]

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/04/trump-suggested-invading-venezuela-report?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The administration officials are said to have taken turns in trying to talk the president out of the idea in August of last year

Julian Borger in Washington DC
Thu 5 Jul 2018 02.26 EDT

Donald Trump repeatedly raised the possibility of invading Venezuela in talks with his top aides at the White House, according to a new report.

Trump brought up the subject of an invasion in public in August last year, saying: “We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary.” But the president’s musings about the possibility of a US invasion were more extensive and persistent than that public declaration, according to the Associated Press.

The previous day Trump reportedly took his top officials by surprise in an Oval Office meeting, asking why the US could not intervene to remove the government of Nicolás Maduro on the grounds that Venezuela’s political and economic unraveling represented a threat to the region.

Quoting an unnamed senior administration official, the AP report said the suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, which included the then national security adviser, HR McMaster, and secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. Both have since left the administration.

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