Venezuela

On 23 January 2019, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, was declared the acting President of the country, disputing Nicolás Maduro's presidency and sparking a presidential crisis. Shortly after Guaidó's announcement, along with allies and several other nations, the United States recognized Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela. US Vice President Mike Pence stated in April that the US was set on Maduro's removal, whether through diplomatic or other means, and that "all options" were on the table. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US would take military action "if required". In December 2019, Pompeo stated that the United States did not plan a military intervention in Venezuela, saying that "we have said that all options are on the table", but that "we have learned from history that the risks from using military force are significant". Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, stated that "military action of the United States against Venezuela would be contrary to the movements of the Trump administration to retire troops from Syria or Afghanistan."

A memo obtained by Agence France-Presse described that the US Agency for International Development would divert $41.9 million to promote Guaidó, including $19.4 million for salaries and stipends for Guaidó's staff, covering their travel, and "other costs necessary to ensure full deployment of a transparent financial management system and other activities necessary for a democratic transition," as well as $2 million to support the opposition in negotiations with the Maduro administration. In August 2019, President Donald Trump's administration imposed new additional sanctions on Venezuela as part of their efforts to remove Maduro from office, ordering a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States and barring transactions with US citizens and companies.