Trump asked why the US shouldn't invade
Last August at a meeting in the Oval Office, President Trump asked top aides why the US simply couldn't invade Venezuela, remove Maduro and replace him.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster were both in attendance, according to the AP report.
"McMaster and others took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing hard-won support among Latin American governments to punish President Nicolas Maduro for taking Venezuela down the path of dictatorship," the report says.
Trump didn't let up and he spoke about military options to remove Maduro the next day then followed it up by raising the issue with Colombia's President. He later also spoke about it at a meeting in September at the UN that included Latin American leaders.
"The U.S. official said Trump was specifically briefed not to raise the issue and told it wouldn't play well, but the first thing the president said at the dinner was, "My staff told me not to say this." Trump then went around asking each leader if they were sure they didn't want a military solution, according to the official, who added that each leader told Trump in clear terms they were sure.
