"We will see ground action in Venezuela very soon," Trump said. He noted that he wants to brief the US Congress on operations against drug cartels, but at the same time does not expect to ask for a declaration of war on the drug mafia.

"Well, I don't think we're necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just going to kill the people who are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We're going to kill them," the president told reporters.

The US has so far carried out strikes against ships and submarines it says are used to smuggle drugs out of Venezuela. It is unclear whether the CIA is actually planning or even carrying out specific operations in Venezuela. However, according to The New York Times (NYT), US officials have privately stated that Washington's ultimate goal is to oust Maduro.

Trump also commented on a report in The Wall Street Journal that the US had sent B-1 bombers near Venezuela to increase military pressure on the South American country."No, that's false," Trump said of the article. He added that he was"very unhappy" with Venezuela.

Trump also said that China is using Venezuela to smuggle fentanyl. Last year, 48,000 people in the United States died from overdoses from the opioid. Trump plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit."The first question for Xi will be fentanyl," the White House chief said.