President Trump’s top national security officials met at the Pentagon Friday to discuss military options in response to the political crisis in Venezuela.
The meeting, attended by acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton, Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, addressed the possibility of U.S. military intervention if strongman Nicolás Maduro continues his refusal to relinquish power to opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who is recognized as the country’s interim president by dozens of countries, including the United States.
Shanahan asked Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command, to remain in Washington after testifying before Congress Thursday to brief the group “on a wide range of military options,” according to SOUTHCOM, which oversees U.S. forces in Latin America.
“U.S. Southern Command stands with the people of Venezuela who are suffering at the hand of the illegitimate Maduro regime and remains prepared to support all options, when requested by senior leadership,” it said in a statement.
Shanahan told reporters after the meeting that the military was reviewing plans and options but gave no further details.
Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday in which he contradicted statements made by both Pompeo and Bolton about Russia’s involvement in Venezuela after reports this week that Moscow had persuaded Maduro not to flee the country in a waiting plane.
“He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he’d like to see something positive happen for Venezuela,” Trump said of Putin. “And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now, people are starving.”
“This is our hemisphere — it’s not where the Russians ought to be interfering,” Bolton told reporters Wednesday.
Trump threatened Cuba Tuesday with full sanctions if the country did not withdraw its forces from Venezuela.
“If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and complete embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba. Hopefully, all Cuban soldiers will promptly and peacefully return to their island!” Trump said in a tweet.
If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and complete….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2019
