In Colombia, Pence strikes balance on Venezuela

Pence held a news conference Sunday with Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos in Cartagena. Santos said he told Pence the U.S. must not even consider military action in response to Venezuela's crisis. Pence did not directly rule out idea of U.S. military action. Instead, he emphasized that the U.S. will work together with many nations in their "neighborhood" to pressure President Nicolas Maduro so Venezuela's democracy can be restored. Pence said several times, "but the president sent me here" to build on that partnership. Pence says, "As President Trump said a few days ago, we have lots of options for Venezuela." More…