President Donald Trump continues to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying it would be “smart” for him to resign and warning him not to get “tough.”
Trump, taking questions from reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Monday night, was asked directly whether his administration’s ultimate goal in Venezuela is to oust Maduro from power.
“Well, I think it probably would be. I can’t tell you. It’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for you to do that. But again, we’re going to find out,” Trump said.
At the same time, Trump issued a warning to Maduro.
“He can do whatever he wants, okay, whatever he wants to do. If he wants to do something, if he plays hard, it will be the last time he can play hard,” Trump said.
The president added: “We have a huge navy for him. The biggest we’ve ever had and by far the biggest we’ve ever had in South America.”
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, December 18, 2025 and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, September 15, 2025.
AP/AFP via Getty Images
The United States has increased its military presence in the region in recent weeks, with 15,000 American troops and several warships ready in the Caribbean.
Last week, Trump also ordered what he called a “complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, targeting the government’s main source of revenue.
Maduro said Venezuela would continue trading oil in the face of the “blockade” and has said regime change “simply won’t happen, never, ever, ever.”
Furthermore, since September, the US military has launched dozens of attacks against vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean that were supposedly transporting drugs. These attacks have killed more than 100 people, according to figures provided by the administration. The attacks have raised several legal questions from lawmakers of both parties and legal experts, although the administration justified the use of deadly force as part of what it calls its “war” on drug cartels.
“Good be starting the same program in “Land,” Trump said Monday. “Land is a lot easier.”
While Trump continued to provoke ground attacks against Venezuela, he also went a step further and threatened ground attacks against other countries.
“Drugs are coming anywhere. Anywhere, not just Venezuela,” Trump said when asked if he was only referring to the ground attacks in Venezuela.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
