Trump, Putin and a Possible ‘Red-Line Moment’ in Venezuela

On Friday, John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, said that the arrival of roughly 100 Russian military “advisers” in the country, along with new arms, posed “a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.” Mr. Bolton warned that no country should enter the Western Hemisphere “with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations.” That seemed to set up a test: Would Venezuela be the place where Mr. Trump, who has often seemed willing to tolerate Mr. Putin’s most audacious provocations, finally draws his own red line? And, if so, does he have a plan to enforce it? It is notable that Mr. Bolton, not Mr. Trump himself, made the announcement, with its echoes of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, the first time the United States issued similar warnings telling foreign powers not to intervene in the Western Hemisphere. More…