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US Congress Would Not Support Military Intervention in Venezuela - Official

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Congress would not support a US military intervention in Venezuela, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said during a hearing on the crisis in Venezuela on Wednesday.
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“US military intervention is not an option,” Engel said. “Congress decides when, where and how the US military is used around the world, and Congress would not support military intervention in Venezuela.”

Lavrov: US Draft Resolution on Venezuela For UNSC Aimed at Possible Intervention
Assumptions over possible US military intervention began to emerge after US president Donald Trump said on 2 February in an interview to CBS that such course of actions was "an option."

Responding to Donald Trump's statement Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned that he was going to make the US intervention irreparable for the enemy in case Washington decides to take military action in Venezuela.

"We are planning to respond to a US intervention in such a way as to make [the United States] suffer irreparable military and human losses," Maduro said on 5 February.

READ MORE: In Venezuela, ‘Rejection of US Intervention’ Goes Beyond Support for Maduro

Maduro also pledged that Venezuela's military would do its best to prevent a possible foreign invasion of its territory.

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Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido in his turn has refused to rule out the possibility of sanctioning a US intervention to drive out the country's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and end the humanitarian crisis.

Speaking with AFP that he would do "everything that is necessary… to save human lives", admitting that Washington's interference is "a very controversial subject".

The crisis in the Latin American country escalated after opposition head Juan Guaido declared himself the interim head of state, and was later acknowledged by a number of countries, including the US, regional states and eleven EU states.

READ MORE: US to Push Anti-Maduro Resolution Amid Fears of Venezuela Intervention — Report

At the same time, Russia, Mexico, China, Turkey, Uruguay and several other countries came forward to reaffirm their support for Maduro as the country's only legitimate democratically elected head of state.

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