Caracas, August 14 (RHC)-- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has appeared with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in an attempt to calm the outrage that followed President Donald Trump's surprising threat to use military force against neighboring Venezuela. 

Speaking from Cartagena, the first leg of his Latin American tour to rally support for the White House's anti-Venezuela policies, Pence repeated Washington's position that Venezuela's government is becoming a “dictatorship,” but insisted a peaceful solution to the unrest and political turmoil in the country was possible. 

Pence's statement appears to contradict Trump's impromptu comments Friday that a “military option” was not out of the question against Venezuela's Bolivarian government, adding further ambiguity to the White House's contradictory messaging.  Although Pence also said: "The United States will not rest and will not relent until Venezuela is restored to a full and prosperous democracy." 

Santos, who has largely marched lockstep with Washington's anti-Venezuela campaign, joined regional leaders who rejected the possibility of armed intervention in Latin America.  The Colombian president said: "As friends, we must tell each other the truth and I told Vice President Pence that the possibility of military intervention must not be contemplated."