'Not Every Option Is on the Table': EU Leaders Reject Idea of US-Led Military Intervention in Venezuela

The European Union and the Spanish government on Monday both rejected calls by the Trump administration and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to keep “every option on the table” to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power—saying they do not support, nor would they would participate, in military intervention.

“Not every option is on the table,” Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell told the Spanish news outlet Efe on Sunday. “We have clearly warned that we would not support—and would roundly condemn—any foreign military intervention, which is something we hope won’t happen.”

“We must avoid a military intervention,” a spokeswoman for E.U. diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini, agreed. “What is explicitly quite clear, from our point of view, is that we need a peaceful political and democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution of this crisis. This obviously excludes the use of force.”

The message from the EU and Borrell followed violence at the Venezuela-Colombia border over the weekend as Guaido supporters attempted to break through the Venezuelan border with food and medical supplies in what critics have characterized as a deliberate provocation disguised as a “humanitarian aid” mission led by the Trump administration. The U.S. has also led calls for the international community to recognize Guaido as the president of Venezuela.