Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Reuters
- Venezuela is suffering from a rapidly deteriorating economy, and weakening law and order.
- Donald Trump reportedly wanted to address the crisis by mounting a US invasion and deposing President Nicolas Maduro.
- Sources say his aides told him that an invasion was a terrible idea, but Trump persisted, and even floated the plan with neighboring countries.
- Trump's bullish rhetoric is likely going to bolster Maduro's standing at home.
Donald Trump reportedly asked senior administration officials and world leaders if the US could invade Venezuela to bring stability to the country's political crisis.
The US president first asked aides whether the US could just take over the country on August 10, 2017, at an Oval Office meeting to discuss US sanctions on the country, according to the Associated Press.
The backdrop was the South American nation's rapidly deteriorating economy, and the perilous state of law and order there.
The previously undisclosed meeting, on which the White House has declined to comment, was anonymously revealed by a senior administration official speaking to AP.
Trump's suggestion reportedly stunned people at the meeting, including Rex Tillerson and HR McMaster, then Secretary of State and National Security Advisor respectively.
The AP said they then spent five minutes taking turns to warn Trump how military action could backfire and lose him support among other Latin American governments.
REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
Nicolas Maduro at a rally in Caracas in May 2018.
Despite his aides' warnings, Trump reportedly continued to talk of a "military option" to remove Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president.
A month later, Trump proceeded to ask the leaders of four Latin American countries, at a private dinner held at a UN General Assembly in New York, whether they would accept military action. One of them was Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, while the identities of the other leaders are not known.
Trump reportedly prefaced the conversation with the leaders with the phrase: "My staff told me not to say this."
He then went around the table to ask each leader whether they were certain they didn't want the US to invade Venezuela, to which each leader said clearly that they were, the AP reported.
(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuelan citizens head toward Venezuela-Colombia border in February 2018. Colombian border cities have been providing healthcare to Venezuelan citizens.
Venezuela's inflation rose above the 41,000% mark last month, and the UN human rights office declared a breakdown of law and order in the country, citing reports that security forces had killed hundreds of anti-government demonstrators while protecting alleged criminals from prosecution.
Venezuelans have also been fleeing to countries including Brazil, Colombia, Chile, the US, and Spain.
Skye Gould/Business Insider
Trump said last August that a military option was not out of the question for dealing with the Venezuelan crisis, but details of the president's seriousness about the issue had not been reported until Wednesday.
His administration also levied new sanctions on dozens of Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, in May.
Trump's bullish stance against Venezuela is likely to bolster Maduro's standing at home, as his supporters have long lamented Washington's involvement in domestic affairs, and used anti-US sentiment to unite against his opponents.
Maduro's son, also named Nicolas, said last year: "Mind your own business and solve your own problems, Mr Trump!"