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		</div><p>Venezuela&#8217;s government has rejected US president Donald Trump&#8217;s talk of a potential &#8220;military option&#8221; to resolve the country&#8217;s political crisis, calling it the most egregious act of belligerence against Venezuela in a century and a threat to Latin America&#8217;s stability.</p>
<p>Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza&#8217;s response came during a meeting with overseas diplomats, which included Lee McClenny, the head of the US embassy in Caracas. Mr Arreaza called Mr Trump the &#8220;boss of the empire&#8221; and said his comments fit a pattern of aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty and violate international law and the UN charter. He accused Washington of seeking to destabilise and divide Latin America and the Caribbean.</p>
<p>The foreign minister also thanked several governments, including ones recently critical of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, for condemning Mr Trump&#8217;s comments. Mr Arreaza called on &#8220;good-minded&#8221; Venezuelans to put aside their political differences and unite in rejecting the US leader&#8217;s comments.</p>
<p>Earlier, Mr Trump said he would not rule out military action against Venezuela in response to the country&#8217;s descent into political chaos following President Nicolas Maduro&#8217;s power grab. Speaking on Friday at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, </p>
<p>Mr Trump bemoaned Venezuela&#8217;s growing humanitarian crisis and said: &#8220;We have many options for Venezuela &#8211; and by the way, I&#8217;m not going to rule out a military option. &#8220;A military operation and military option is certainly something that we could pursue.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mr Trump&#8217;s comment mark a serious escalation in rhetoric for the US, which has up until now stressed a regional approach that encourages Latin American allies to escalate pressure on the Maduro regime. Hours before Mr Trump&#8217;s comments, a senior administration official speaking on condition of anonymity stressed that approach while briefing reporters on Vice President Mike Pence&#8217;s upcoming trip to the region.</p>
<p>On Friday, the White House said it had rejected a request from Mr Maduro to speak by phone with his US counterpart. The statement said: &#8220;Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Trump administration has slapped a series of sanctions against Mr Maduro and more than two dozen current and former Venezuelan officials in response to a crackdown on opposition leaders and the recent election of a constitutional assembly charged with rewriting the country&#8217;s constitution.</p>
<p>Even as the list of targeted individuals has grown longer, promised economic sanctions have yet to materialise amid an outcry by US oil companies over the likelihood that a potential ban on petroleum imports from Venezuela &#8211; the third-largest supplier to the US &#8211; would hurt US jobs and drive up fuel costs.</p>
<p>Mr Trump&#8217;s comments are sure to focus new attention on Mr Pence&#8217;s upcoming six-day tour of the region, which will include stops in Cartagena, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Panama City. Mr Pence is set to arrive in Colombia on Sunday and is expected to meet with each of the countries&#8217; leaders, deliver a major speech on US-Latin American relations and tour the newly expanded Panama Canal.</p>
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