Trump questions US strategy in Venezuela: report

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - After failing to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump is rethinking his administration’s aggressive approach to the Latin American country, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Trump’s dissatisfaction lies with National Security Advisor John Bolton, who the president has said wants to get the U.S. “into a war” with Venezuela.

The president complained that Bolton underestimated Maduro and called the Venezuelan leader a “tough cookie,” the Post said in a report late Wednesday, citing three senior administration officials.

Last week, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called for a military uprising and posted a video message alongside a small contingent of uniformed military personnel and armored vehicles in which he demanded the end of the “usurpation” of Maduro, and continued to urge mass demonstrations against the Venezuelan president.

The U.S. has thrown its support behind Guaido but Maduro remains in the country, vowing he is not going anywhere.

Now Trump is concerned Bolton “boxed him into a corner,” a U.S. official told the newspaper. He also questioned his administration’s strong support for Guaido.

Bolton’s job remains secure, however, and Trump has allowed him to continue working on Venezuela, two senior administration officials told the Post.

The newspaper also said Trump is not comfortable with increased escalation in Venezuela, due to the risk it poses in creating a proxy fight with Russia, which arms Maduro’s government.

After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump spoke favorably of Russian actions in Venezuela, saying Putin “is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela.”

The events in Venezuela last week “have effectively shelved serious discussion of a heavy U.S. military response,” the Post said, citing current and former officials.

“It runs counter to Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection narrative,” John Feeley, a former U.S. ambassador to Panama, told the Post.

“At a time when you’re pulling people back from Syria, back from Iraq, back from Afghanistan, how do you say we’re going to commit 50-, 100-, 150,000 of our blood and treasure to a country where you can’t tell the bad guys from the good guys?” he added.