U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. forces have so far attacked three vessels of alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, not two, as he had previously claimed.

We shot down ships. Actually, it was three ships, not two, but you saw two, Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for the United Kingdom for a state visit.

The president was asked about statements by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, in which he accused the American of wanting to invade his country.

Stop sending Tren de Aragua members to the United States. Stop sending drugs to the United States, Trump responded.

The Republican referred to this third vessel a day after reporting that the US armed forces had attacked a boat in which, he said, three people died, whom he described as"terrorists." Shortly after, in the Oval Office, he stated that the destroyed boat was carrying cocaine and fentanyl.

Last Saturday, Caracas reported that a United States destroyer illegally boarded and occupied for eight hours a Venezuelan vessel with nine fishermen who were - it stressed - in the waters of the South American country.

However, the United States had not yet reacted.

These attacks come amid escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela over the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, purportedly aimed at combating drug trafficking.

The Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, a claim denied by the Venezuelan government, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to the Venezuelan leader's capture.