US President Donald Trump recently gave an interview to journalist Dasha Burns for POLITICO from the White House, where he stressed that Nicolás Maduro's days in the Miraflores Palace are numbered.

The following is the segment of the conversation where Trump referred to the Venezuelan crisis and his military deployment in the Caribbean Sea:

Burns: Your impact extends far beyond Europe. I want to talk about another area where you're making your mark, which is Venezuela. You've said that Nicolás Maduro's days are numbered and that the United States could soon attack Venezuelan territory. Could we see US troops on the ground in Venezuela?

Trump: I'm not going to comment on that. I wouldn't say either one. I can say this: he sent us millions of people, many from prisons, many drug dealers, drug traffickers, people from mental institutions. He sent them to our country, where we had a very stupid president. You know that. (Joe) Biden is a person with a low IQ, especially nowadays. I mean, 30 years ago he already had a low IQ, but now he has an especially low IQ. And what he did to our country is not good. The Tren de Aragua (TdA), one of the most ruthless gangs in the world.

Burns: Well, you've secured the border now.

Trump: No, no, he sent many of these people. He also sends a lot of drugs. So we'll see how it all ends.

Burns: How far would you go to remove Maduro from power?

Trump: I don't mean that.

Burns: But do you want to walk him to the door?

Trump: His days are numbered.

Burns: Can you rule out a US ground invasion of Venezuela?

Trump: I don't talk about it. Why would I talk to you after an extremely unfriendly article in POLITICO, which received eight million dollars from (Barack) Obama to stay afloat? Why would I do that?

Burns: Many people are wondering what our objectives are in Venezuela.

Trump: Sure, but I don't want to talk to you about military strategy.

Burns: Well, may I ask then, what is your objective in Venezuela? What would you like to see with the actions you are taking?

Trump: Well, one of the goals is that I want the people of Venezuela to be treated well. I want the people of Venezuela, many of whom live in the United States, to be respected. I mean, they were tremendous to me. They voted for me 94 percent or something like that. I mean, it's incredible. I have a great project in Doral, it's a great place, Doral Country Club.

Burns: I've been there.

Trump: Yes. And it's, you know, a very large, beautiful place, right in the middle of what they call 'Little Venezuela.' And I got to know the Venezuelan people very well because I've been around them for a long time, and they're incredible people. The area is very successful, we're all successful, it's amazing. They say if a house is on the market for more than three days, something's wrong. I mean, if someone wants to sell their house, they sell it in a matter of moments. People love the area, and I got to know the people well. They're incredible people, and they were treated horribly by Maduro.

Burns: And are those the kind of immigrants you want to see in the United States?

Trump: Well, they certainly contribute. Yes, I want to see people who contribute. I don't want to see Somalia. I don't want to see a woman who, you know, marries her brother to get in and then becomes a congresswoman and does nothing but complain. All she does is complain, complain, complain, and yet her country is a mess, you know, one of the worst in the world. Let her go back and fix her own country.

(…)

Burns: I want to talk about the attacks on the drug boats. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will testify under oath before Congress about that controversial second attack on the alleged drug-trafficking vessel on September 2.

Trump: I don't care if he does. He can do it if he wants. I don't care.

Burns: Do you think I should?

Trump: I don't care. I'd say go ahead if you want to, Pete, they're doing a great job.

Burns: Have you seen the video?

Trump: I see it all, yes. I see it all. I see a lot of things.

Burns: And you think that second attack was necessary?

Trump: It's not pretty, but it looked like they were trying to sink the ship, but I don't get involved in that, that's up to them. The admiral who did that is very respected, as you know, a very respected man. And we save 25,000 people every time we destroy a ship. On average, they kill 25,000 Americans, so you know, I don't like doing that, but the drugs coming in by sea are down, they're down 92 percent. And I'm trying to figure out who the other eight percent are. Nobody wants to sail ships to America loaded with drugs anymore… and soon we're going to attack them on land.

Burns: Fentanyl in the United States is actually produced in Mexico using precursors from China, according to the DEA. And Venezuela is not a significant source or transit country for fentanyl; it barely appears in DEA trafficking assessments.

Trump: Yeah, well, they send a lot of drugs. Those ships come largely from Venezuela, so I would say that's a big point, and you can see the drugs. You can see these bags all over the ship, I mean, bags, bags, and bags.

Burns: So, if it's about drugs, would you consider that Maduro should see justice?

Trump: At least 11,888 murderers were registered in our country, and stupid Joe (Biden) took all those people. And now we're getting them out of here. We're finding them. We find a lot of them and we either get them out or put them in jail. Some are so dangerous and so bad that we don't want to send them back to their country because they'll find a way to go back to 'working.' But these are cold-blooded killers. But every time we destroy a ship, we save 25,000 American lives.

Burns: Would you consider doing something similar with Mexico and Colombia, which are even more responsible for fentanyl trafficking into the United States?

Trump: Yes, I would. Sure, I would.

Burns: You pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández and let him out of prison despite his conviction for a huge international drug trafficking scheme.

Trump: Well, I don't know him. And I know very little about him, except that people were saying it was like some kind of Obama/Biden setup, where he was framed. He was the president of the country. The country traffics drugs—you could probably say that about every country—and because he was president, they gave him like 45 years in prison. And there are a lot of people fighting for Honduras, very good people that I know. And they think he was treated terribly, and they asked me to do it, and I said I would.

Burns: Do you think that could send the wrong message to traffickers?

Trump: No, I don't think so.