Former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos claims that Donald Trump suggested an invasion of Venezuela as early as 2017

In an interview with the Financial Times, former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos revealed that Donald Trump proposed an 'invasion' of Venezuela during a meeting with Latin American leaders in 2017. Santos, who negotiated the disarmament of the FARC guerrillas, considered the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro to be 'terrible' for global stability.

He reported that Trump jokingly mentioned that an invasion could quickly solve the problem in Venezuela, and Santos reacted by telling him it was 'the worst possible solution.' The former Colombian president believes that Trump's intention to govern Venezuela from a distance will fail and argues that democratic elections are the way forward. He also criticized replacing Maduro with another illegitimate leader, emphasizing that Trump prefers to 'dictate' decisions in Caracas.