Donald Trump repeatedly raised the idea of the US invading Venezuela in discussions with his senior aides and leaders of other South American countries, it has emerged.

The US president first made the suggestion in the Oval Office on August 10 at the end of a meeting about putting sanctions on Venezuela.

An ongoing political and economic crisis in the troubled nation was disrupting regional security, and Mr Trump wanted to know why the US could not intervene militarily.

Those present at the meeting included Rex Tillerson, then the US Secretary of State, and H.R. McMaster, then Mr Trump's national security adviser.

Bob Baer, a former CIA operative, said the idea of a coup in Venezuela had been "in the air for a couple of years" in intelligence circles, and he suspected the president had "got wind of it".