WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has downplayed the likelihood of a war between the United States and Venezuela but suggested that Nicolás Maduro’s days as president may be numbered.

When asked by CBS’ 60 Minutes if the US was going to war against Venezuela, Trump replied, “I doubt it. I don’t think so. But they’ve been treating us very badly.”

His comments come as the US continues to launch strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, which the Trump administration says are necessary to stem the flow of narcotics into the United States.

Trump rejected suggestions that the US actions were intended to oust Maduro — a long-time critic of Washington — saying the campaign was about “many things.”

According to CBS News, at least 64 people have been killed by US strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September.

Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump said, “Every single boat that you see that’s shot down kills 25,000 on drugs and destroys families all over our country.”

Pressed on whether the US was planning any strikes on land, Trump refused to rule it out, saying: “I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that… I’m not gonna tell you what I’m gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn’t going to do it.”