President Trump on Friday refused to rule out a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, where civil strife has turned violent. 
 
 "I'm not going to rule out a military option," he told reporters at his New Jersey golf club. 
 
 “Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering and they’re dying,” he said. “We have many options for Venezuela, including a possibile military option if necessary.” 
 
 Trump declined to say whether American troops would lead a possible military effort in Venezuela, saying: “We don’t talk about it.” 
 
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 “But a military operation, a military option is certainly something that we could pursue,” he said. 
 
 Tensions in Venezuela have boiled over in recent months, with widespread protests against the increasingly autocratic government of President Nicolas Maduro. 
 
 According to a statement by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders late Friday night, Maduro called and requested a call with Trump on Friday, but the White House refused. 
 
 "Since the start of this Administration, President Trump has asked that Maduro respect Venezuela’s constitution, hold free and fair elections, release political prisoners, cease all human rights violations, and stop oppressing Venezuela’s great people," Sanders said in a statement. "The Maduro regime has refused to heed this call, which has been echoed around the region and the world. Instead Maduro has chosen the path of dictatorship." 
 
 "The United States stands with the people of Venezuela in the face of their continued oppression by the Maduro regime," the statement continued. "President Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country." 
 
 The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Maduro in late July after questions about the legitimacy of an election to rewrite the country’s constitution. 
 
 The vote was boycotted by the opposition, who accused Maduro of using the vote to consolidate power. Maduro went ahead with the vote, which created a new pro-government assembly that will rewrite the country’s constitution. 
 
 Venezuela has also been roiled by shortages of food and medicine, intensifying the unrest. 
 
 Ahead of the election last month, the State Department ordered the families of U.S. diplomats out of Venezuela’s capital Caracas amid concerns about “social unrest, violent crime, and pervasive food and medicine shortages.” 
 
 Updated 9:50 p.m. ||||| President Trump is in New York City for a week of meetings and speeches with foreign leaders amid global uncertainty about a nuclear North Korea. 
 
 Trump's Monday will be packed with meetings, leading up to his first-ever speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday — a highly anticipated address in which the president is expected to discuss the specific threats of North Korea, Iran and global terrorism. 
 
 The president's schedule also includes meeting with representatives from more than 120 nations, as well as U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, to discuss reforming the international organization. Trump has been highly critical of the U.N., and the U.S. is backing changes it hopes will make the organization more efficient and effective. 
 
 The president will then meet with leaders from France and Israel with an expected focus on the Middle East — and Iran in particular — for what national security adviser H.R. McMaster has called that country’s “destabilizing behavior” in the region. 
 
 Trump will close out his first day of meetings at a working dinner with Latin American leaders to discuss the crisis in Venezuela, as well as how to maximize economic partnerships between the U.S. and South America. 
 
 Along the way, the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and global terrorism in the wake of an attack at a London subway station figure to be hot topics of discussion. 
 
 Here are four things to watch for during Trump's visit: 
 
 U.S. pushes for reforms to the U.N. 
 
 The Trump administration has not been shy about expressing its discontent with the U.N. 
 
 The White House believes the U.S. pays too much for what it gets in return and that peacekeeping missions should be examined for excessive spending. Administration officials have described the U.N. as a bloated bureaucracy and have expressed anger by what they view as insufficient support for key allies, like Israel. 
 
 Trump appears to have an ally for reform in Guterres, who assumed the role of secretary general in January. 
 
 U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley Nimrata (Nikki) HaleyMedicare administrator violated Hatch Act, says watchdog group The Hill's 12:30 Report — Trump touts Iran sanctions with 'Game of Thrones' meme | 4 days to midterms | Toss-up races key to Senate battle | Strong October jobs report The Hill's Morning Report — Presented by PhRMA — Congress faces crush of November deadlines MORE said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she is happy with the direction the U.N. has taken in recent weeks, noting that “Israel bashing” has declined and that the U.N. has passed new sanctions on North Korea. 
 
 “It is a new day at the U.N., and I think that the pleas [Trump] made in terms of trying to see change at the United Nations have been heard,” Haley said. 
 
 “We said we needed to get value for our dollar, and what we're finding is that the international community is right there with us in support of reform," she added. 
 
 Disagreements over how to deal with Iran 
 
 Trump will meet with leaders from Israel and France to discuss Iran on Monday as the administration steps up its rhetoric against Tehran. 
 
 “While their conversations will be wide-ranging, we expect that Iran's destabilizing behavior, including its violation of the sovereignty of nations across the Middle East, to be a major focus,” McMaster said at a press briefing on Friday. 
 
 The White House has until mid-October to notify Congress of whether it believes Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration. 
 
 British Prime Minister Theresa May has sought to stress the importance of that deal in private meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonChina is investing in Latin America, and the US is jealous No easy future for Saudi relations Trump’s anti-caravan efforts follow decades of regional frustration MORE. 
 
 However, Tillerson’s view is that while Iran may technically be keeping to the terms of the deal, that the country has violated the spirit of the agreement through a litany of other “destabilizing activities in the region.” 
 
 “Since the nuclear deal has been concluded what we have witnessed is Iran has stepped up its destabilizing activities in Yemen. It's stepped up its destabilizing activities in Syria. It exports arms to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. And it continues to conduct a very active ballistic missile program,” Tillerson said Sunday on CBS News's "Face the Nation." 
 
 “None of that, I would believe, is consistent with that preamble commitment that was made by everyone," he said. 
 
 Unrest in Venezuela 
 
 Trump will close out Monday at a working dinner with Latin American leaders, where the focus is expected to be unrest in Venezuela. 
 
 The U.S. is asking questions about the legitimacy of President Nicolás Maduro’s election victory over the summer. The country has been racked by violent anti-government protests, as well as currency instability and food and medical shortages. 
 
 The U.S. slapped new economic sanctions on the country and is banning American companies from “participating in Maduro’s liquidation of the Venezuelan economy.” 
 
 While Trump discusses those challenges with Venezuela’s neighbors, Haley said at a Friday press conference the president is “unlikely” to speak with Maduro directly. 
 
 “As you know, the United States designated President Maduro after he victimized his own people, denied them their rights under his own constitution,” Haley said. “And I think as the president has made clear, he’s willing to talk at some point in the future, but it would have to be after rights are restored to the Venezuelan people.” 
 
 Finding the right balance on North Korea 
 
 While Trump doesn’t have meetings on Monday that will focus directly on North Korea — he will speak with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in later in the week — the administration will be seeking support for what Tillerson is calling the United States’ “peaceful pressure campaign” from world leaders. 
 
 The U.N. recently passed two rounds of sanctions against North Korea, and the Trump administration will be seeking to galvanize the isolated country’s regional neighbors, including Russia and China, against it. 
 
 Tillerson has said that despite Trump’s “fire and fury” rhetoric, the U.S. is committed to a diplomatic solution. 
 
 “I'm waiting for the regime of North Korea to give us some indication that they're prepared to have constructive, productive talks,” Tillerson said Sunday. 
 
 Haley, however, has spoken more boldly about the potential for U.S. military action. 
 
 "We wanted to be responsible and go through all diplomatic means to get their attention first,” she said Sunday on "State of the Union.” “If that doesn't work, [Defense Secretary James] Mattis will take care of it.” 
 
 "If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies anyway,” Haley continued. “North Korea will be destroyed, and we know that and none of us want that. None of us want war.” 
 
 Trump does not have a meeting on the books with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the administration will be looking to pressure the Asian power where it can. 
 
 Speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Tom Cotton Thomas (Tom) Bryant CottonFlake: Congress should not continue Kavanaugh investigations GOP senator suspects Schumer of being behind release of Ford letter Susan Collins becomes top 2020 target for Dems MORE (R-Ark.), a Trump ally, laid out the administration’s view. 
 
 “China can do more,” he said. “We have to put pressure on China, though, to achieve our objective, which is a denuclearized North Korea that can no longer threaten America.” ||||| "If the U.S. soils the homeland, the rifles would come to New York and take the White House," Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, said. Maduro's son threatens to 'take the White House' with guns in case of U.S. intervention 
 
 Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, threatened to "take the White House" with guns if President Donald Trump followed through with a military intervention in the country, a possibility he said he would not rule out on Friday. 
 
 "If the U.S. soils the homeland, the rifles would come to New York and take the White House," Maduro Guerra said according to reports from Venezuelan media. 
 
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 Trump on Friday said he would not rule out the U.S. pursuing “a military option” against Venezuela, which has come under increased pressure for its human rights abuses. 
 
 Speaking to reporters from his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., after meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump said he has “many options” for Venezuela, “including a possible military operation, if necessary.” 
 
 The White House later condemned the Maduro regime for its human rights abuses in a statement released late Friday, saying the Venezuelan leader had “refused to heed” the White House's calls for the country to “hold free and fair elections” and instead “chosen the path of dictatorship.”
– As many fret over the increasingly tense relationship between the US and North Korea, President Trump threw another country into the mix Friday: Venezuela. Speaking to reporters Friday from his New Jersey golf club, flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, and National Security Adviser HR McMaster, Trump offered what Reuters calls a "surprise escalation" on the US response to Venezuela's current political upheaval, in which more than 120 people have been killed and thousands arrested over the past four months. "Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering and they are dying," Trump told reporters, per the Hill. "We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary." When pressed by reporters on whether that meant the US would lead an operation in the South American country, Trump replied, "We don't talk about it, but a military operation—a military option—is certainly something that we could pursue." The US just hit Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with financial sanctions in late July, with a statement from Trump noting: "Maduro is not just a bad leader. He is now a dictator." The Pentagon told Reuters it has yet to receive any instructions from the president regarding Venezuela. Meanwhile, one reporter circled back to North Korea during Trump's appearance, asking, "Is the US going to go to war?" after Trump mentioned a possible "bad solution" to the Korea problem, per CBS News. "I think you know the answer to that," the president replied.