Alwaght- Tensions erupted after US national security adviser John Bolton was photographed with a yellow legal pad on which he had written "5,000 troops to Colombia".
During Monday’s White House press briefing, in which the administration announced sanctions against Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, the warmonger Bolton, accidentally or deliberately, held the notepad against his jacket with its pages facing outward. On the pad appeared a hand-written note: “Afghanistan --> welcome the talks. 5,000 troops to Colombia.”
Photos of the note rocketed around Twitter, causing a stir.
Asked about the notepad, a White House spokesperson reportedly told CBS, “As the president has said, all options are on the table".
The plan raised more questions about the potential for military action in Venezuela. If enacted, the troop movement would mark a major escalation of US interference in South America, though it is unclear what exactly the service members’ roles would be.
Pentagon officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said that the Defense Department hadn’t received any orders to this effect, The Washington Post reported.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela — a constant for more than a dozen years — have surged to crisis levels in the past week, after the United States recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s president.
