8/12/2017

FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “President Trump’s remarks on Friday [8-11-17] that he would not rule out a ‘military option’ to quell the chaos in Venezuela set off a late-night diplomatic duel, with the defense minister accusing Mr. Trump of ‘an act of madness’ and the White House saying it had turned away a call from Venezuela’s president…
About an hour later, the White House issued a statement saying that Mr. Trump had refused to take a phone call on Friday from Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
‘Today, Nicolas Maduro requested a phone call with President Donald J. Trump,’ the White House said. ‘President Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.’
Venezuelan officials did not confirm the White House’s account of the phone call. They seemed shocked that Mr. Trump had mentioned their country — troubled for weeks by protests and charges of election fraud — alongside a nuclear-armed North Korea.
The Venezuelan communications minister, Ernesto Villegas, in a television interview, called Mr. Trump’s remark ‘an unprecedented threat to national sovereignty.’
‘We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary,’ Mr. Trump said.
The defense minister said to expect a more detailed diplomatic response on Saturday.”

-The New York Times, “Trump Alarms Venezuela With Talk of a ‘Military Option’,” The New York Times online, Aug. 12, 2017