US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on August 11, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. (AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON)
BEDMINSTER, United States — US President Donald Trump said Friday he was considering military options as a response to the escalating crisis in Venezuela, describing the situation there as a “very dangerous mess.”
“We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey.
“We have troops all over the world in places that are very far away. Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and they’re dying.”
The comments came two days after his administration imposed new sanctions on Venezuela, targeting members of a loyalist assembly installed last week to bolster what Washington calls the “dictatorship” of President Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuelan government responded to the sanctions by saying the US was “making a fool of itself in front of the world.”
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Anti-government activists demonstrate against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at a barricade set up on a road in Caracas on August 8, 2017. (AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt)
Trump said Venezuela’s ongoing crisis was among the topics discussed at the talks he hosted in New Jersey on Friday with his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
“Venezuela is a mess. It is very dangerous mess and a very sad situation,” Trump said.
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
