FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “President Donald Trump last August asked several top foreign policy advisers about the possibility of invading Venezuela during a meeting about diplomatic sanctions the US was enacting on the autocratic government, a senior administration official familiar with the comments said. Trump’s aides, including then-national security adviser HR McMaster, vigorously urged him against the notion of a military invasion of Venezuela, warning him it could backfire and explaining that US allies in the region were firmly opposed to such drastic action. Taking military action against Venezuela would be a dramatic escalation of the US’s so-far solely diplomatic and sanctions-focused response to the political and economic crisis roiling the South American country. Still, the official with knowledge of Trump’s private comments noted there was ‘no imminent plan for a military strike’ and chalked the comments up to Trump thinking ‘out loud…’ Venezuela has been a key focus of the Trump administration’s policy toward Latin America, with Trump taking numerous steps to ratchet up pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The administration has enacted numerous sanctions and issued strongly worded statements urging the Venezuelan government to allow free and fair elections to take place.”
-Jeremy Diamond, “Trump asked advisers about invading Venezuela in 2017,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 5, 2018 6:35 am