President Donald Trump said that he is open to a “military option” in Venezuela, The Telegraph reports. Even though he didn’t give any further details on his plans for the South American country, he said that a Military Intervention is being considered. “Venezuela is a mess (…) the people are suffering, and they are dying,” the President told reporters at his golf club in New Jersey where he is on vacation.
The President also said that the White House is “considering additional sanctions at a very high level.” Last week, the U.S. Government announced sanctions against President Maduro, whom they accused of breaking the constitutional order.
The Venezuelan leader carried out an election to form a new Assembly with the power to change the constitution. Opposing parties didn’t participate in the election.
Trump’s intervention threat was uttered in the same week that there was an escalation in the war of words between the President and the North Korean regime. In one of his statements, Trump said that the United States would react to any threat by North Korea with “fire and fury like the world has never seen before.”
Prompt reaction
Trump’s words triggered prompt reactions from the Venezuelan Government. The Venezuela Defense Chief Vladimir Padrino López called Trump's military threat “an act of craziness.” According to Newsweek, he said that any attempt to violate the sovereignty of the country would be retaliated.
The U.S. military didn’t intervene directly in the region since 1994-1995 when it carried out an operation in Haiti. The American troops aimed at sacking the dictatorial government to reinstate the democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted from power by a coup in 1991.
Endless turmoil
As the crisis unfolds in Venezuela, the hard-left President Nicolas Maduro struggles to hold on to power.
The country has been riven by violent street demonstrations against the government. Hundreds of demonstrators died in confrontations with the Police.
The political crisis reached new heights after the election of a new Assembly with the power to change the Constitution. Opposing parties and the international community argue that the election was a yet another maneuver of the President to remain in power.
According to Star Tribune, Mercosur (the South American trade bloc made up by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) suspended Venezuela indefinitely. The suspension can be lifted only when the bloc is satisfied that democratic order has been restored.
