Trump has been repeatedly asked by journalists about his government’s plan and has given seemingly contradictory answers.
Asked by US broadcaster CBS on 3 November whether the US was going to war with Venezuela, Trump said, “I don’t think so”.
But on Sunday, when asked whether he would rule out US troops on the ground in Venezuela, he answered: “No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything.”
However, when pressed on whether he would speak to his Venezuelan counterpart directly, he said: “I would probably talk to him, yeah.” “I talk to everybody,” Trump added.
Also on Sunday, the US state department said it “intended to designate Cartel de los Soles”, the Venezuelan drug trafficking gang it alleges is led by Maduro, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO).
But rather than doing so immediately, the state department said the move would become effective on 24 November.
This delay – combined with Trump leaving the door open to direct talks – has been interpreted by some as a US ultimatum for Maduro: enter into negotiations or face even more draconian US measures.
Being labelled as an FTO means it becomes illegal for US citizens to knowingly provide material support or resources to the group in question, external.
According to the White House, it also then becomes the policy of the US to “ensure the total elimination of these organisations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States”.
Some analysts think that just as the Trump administration has argued that it is legal to target alleged drug boats in the Caribbean because of the danger they say they pose to US citizens, it could use the FTO designation to bolster support for strikes against the Cartel de los Soles on Venezuelan soil.
