During an Oval Office meeting in August, President Trump reportedly asked his senior advisers about invading Venezuela to intervene in ongoing issues in the country, a senior administration official told The Associated Press.
The official told the AP 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 Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Trump’s top aides reportedly took turns explaining to him how invading the country could significantly damage U.S. relations with Latin American countries, among other possible issues.
The official, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity, said Trump countered his advisers’ arguments with examples of invasions he considers successful, such as the invasions of Panama and Grenada in the 1980s.
The exchange reportedly lasted about five minutes.
In a subsequent report by CNN, a senior official who attended the meeting said Trump was just thinking out loud.
“The president says and thinks a lot of different things,” the official said. “He just thinks out loud.”
A day after the meeting, Trump told reporters he wasn’t ruling out a military option in the country.
“Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering and they’re dying,” he said. “We have many options for Venezuela, including a possibile military option if necessary.”
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Trump discussed invading Venezuela, stunning officials: report https://t.co/kEIs2nxkmw pic.twitter.com/rwNUGWT2Aa
— The Hill (@thehill) July 5, 2018
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