National security adviser John Bolton said there are no imminent plans for a military intervention in Venezuela, but stressed that all options were fair game.
In a radio interview Friday with Hugh Hewitt, Bolton was asked whether military intervention by the U.S., Brazil, Colombia, or a mix of the countries was imminent.
“No, the president said all options are on the table,” Bolton said. “But our objective is a peaceful transfer of power.”
Hewitt also pressed Bolton about being photographed earlier this week with a note “5,000 troops to Colombia.” But Bolton remained tight-lipped and didn’t reveal any new details.
“You know, when we say all options are on the table, we want to keep it at that level,” Bolton said. “And going beyond that, I think, would be imprudent, as George H.W. Bush would say.”
President Trump announced his support last week, along with U.S. allies, for the leading opposition figure who claimed the constitutional authority to supplant Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump backed Maduro’s ouster by affirming that Juan Guaido, the National Assembly president, stands as the interim president of the country, days after the lawmaker declared Maduro’s inauguration invalid and invoked a constitutional provision authorizing him to assume the presidency and oversee new elections.
“We’ve been imposing economic sanctions, increasing political pressure from around the world,” Bolton told Hewitt. “The overwhelming majority of the people of the country want the Maduro regime thrown out. That’s what we hope and expect to do.”
Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin unveiled new sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA earlier this week in an attempt to choke the Maduro regime.
