US President Asked Aides About Invading Venezuela Last Year

During an Oval Office meeting in August of 2017, US President Donald Trump reportedly asked his senior advisers about invading Venezuela to intervene in ongoing issues in the country, according to a senior administration official.

The official told The Associated Press that the discussion did not amount to any formal plan to invade the country, but was merely a discussion on the option.

According to the official, the question stunned those in attendance, including former national security adviser H.R. McMaster and former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Trump's top aides reportedly took turns explaining to him how invading the country could significantly damage US relations with Latin American countries, among other possible issues. To invade the country would be a drastic escalation from the United State's current diplomatic response to the Venezuelan government.
  (FNA)
 5/7/18