Trump agrees to hold talks with Maduro but does not 'rule out' ground attack in Venezuela

US President Donald Trump has floated diplomatic talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The White House, at the same time, said that Trump has yet to decide on whether to attack the Venezuelan land.

Trump said on Monday that he would be open to speaking directly with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at a “certain time,” indicating he sees a possible path forward that doesn’t rely on airstrikes or sending commandos to remove Maduro.

However, the US president asserted his willingness to go after drug cartels using force in land in countries like Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia. “We know their address. We know their address. We know everything about every one of them," Trump said.

Asked if he would rule out US troops on the ground in Venezuela, Trump replied: “No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything.”

“We just have to take care of Venezuela,” he added. “They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons.”

A contingent of US Marines is currently conducting military exercises in Trinidad and Tobago, the second such manoeuvres in less than a month between Washington and the small English-speaking archipelago located about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Venezuelan coast.

But Trinidad and Tobago’s leader said Monday that the small island nation would not allow its territory to be used to attack Venezuela, nor was it ever asked to.

“The US has NEVER requested use of our territory to launch any attacks against the people of Venezuela,” said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a close Trump ally, in a WhatsApp message to AFP.

Meanwhile, Maduro has responded to Trump’s invitation to talks, saying he is ready to talk “face to face” with anyone in the United States “who wants to talk to Venezuela.”

Venezuela has accused Washington of seeking regime change in Caracas with its military build-up, including an aircraft carrier group, warships and several stealth jets.

Washington accuses Maduro of leading a “terrorist” drug cartel, a charge he denies.

Since September, US forces have killed at least 83 people via air strikes on boats accused of ferrying drugs in international waters, according to an AFP tally of publicly released figures.

With inputs from agencies