Trump says "all options" remain on the table to deal with Venezuela crisis
President Trump welcomed Colombian President Iván Duque to the White House Wednesday, with Mr. Trump saying he's looking at "all options" to deal with the crisis in Venezuela, which shares a border with Colombia.
The Trump administration is taking a hardline approach to President Nicolas Maduro's regime in Venezuela, having declared Juan Guaidó, the speaker of the National Assembly, the rightful leader. Mr. Trump hasn't ruled out military intervention in Venezuela and declined to answer whether he was considering sending troops to the country.
Mr. Trump said he has "great respect" for Guaidó, calling him "the real president of Venezuela" and predicting the situation is "going to work out very well." In a joint statement issued several hours after the meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump and Duque said the U.S. and Colombia "will work with the Guaido government to restore freedom, democracy, and prosperity to Venezuela."
Guaidó and Maduro are locked in a standoff for control of Venezuela, an oil-rich country whose economy has been devastated in recent years.
The meeting was Duque's first visit to the White House since being elected president of Colombia in August 2018. Mr. Trump had planned to visit Colombia in December, but the trip was canceled.