The regional threat posed by Iran is growing, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen told Israeli cabinet ministers on Sunday, according to media reports.The Pentagon said quickly that no plans for invasion had been drawn up, and most analysts believe it is highly unlikely that Washington would order its troops into the South American nation, beyond with a possible peacekeeping force.
But Mr Pence described his boss as “a leader who says what he means and means what he says.”
“A failed state in Venezuela threatens the security and prosperity of our entire hemisphere and the people of the United States of America,” he said, adding that a void in Venezuelan leadership would allow drug trafficking to flourish and spark a surge in illegal migration.
“It's extraordinary to think that one of the wealthiest countries in South America would now be collapsing into dictatorship and poverty and deprivation,” he said.
He said that the July 30 election of a constituent assembly was a tool “that exists to facilitate a dictatorship”, and condemned the dismissal of the country’s attorney general, Luisa Ortega, in the assembly’s first act.
Luisa Ortega jumps on a motorbike to leave her office on August 5, after she was removed from her position
Friday’s threat was greeted with anger across Latin America, with condemnation from even countries which have sparred diplomatically with Venezuela.
Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia, said on Saturday that he had told Mr Pence his country was strongly against any US military force in Venezuela – his nation’s troublesome neighbour.
"Since friends have to tell them the truth, I've told Vice President Pence the possibility of military intervention shouldn't even be considered," said Mr Santos.
"The Latin American continent, every country in Latin America, would not favour any form of military intervention and that is why we are saying we are intent on looking into other measures - some of which are already underway and others to be implemented in the future."