As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluding, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With a fast unraveling Venezuela threatening regional security, why can’t the U.S. just simply invade the troubled country?
U.S. officials intercepted a semi-submersible vessel carrying more than 3,800 pounds (1,700 kilograms) of cocaine last month after pursuing it in international waters off the coast of Panama.