Ex-Brazilian President Temer Says Trump Asked His Advice On How To Intervene In Venezuela

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2019) Former Brazilian President Michel Temer has said that US President Donald Trump asked him and two other leaders of the region to help him with plans for a military intervention in Venezuela, the ALnavio news portal reported on Wednesday.

According to Temer, the talks took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He did not specify when exactly. Temer served as Brazilian president from August 31, 2016, to December 31, 2018.

"Trump invited me, the presidents of Colombia [Juan Manuel Santos] and Panama [Juan Carlos Varela] to dinner. He asked us how to organize an intervention in Venezuela. Santos and I said that we would make diplomatic decisions and that we were not going to act militarily," Temer said at an event in Madrid.

Venezuela has long been suffering from a humanitarian and political crisis. The turmoil intensified in January when, after disputing Nicolas Maduro's reelection, US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally declared himself the country's interim president.

The US swiftly recognized the self-styled president, imposing comprehensive sanctions on the Maduro government and freezing its assets. During the first months of the crisis, the Trump administration repeatedly warned that all options to settle the Venezuelan crisis remained on the table, hinting at a military solution.