Trump says he doubts US will go to war with Venezuela

Donald Trump has downplayed the possibility of US war with Venezuela but suggested Nicolás Maduro’s days as the country’s president are numbered.

Asked if the US would go to war against Venezuela, the US president told CBS: “I doubt it. I don’t think so. But they’re treating us very badly.”

His comments come as the United States continues to launch attacks on boats allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean. The Trump administration says the strikes are necessary to stop the flow of drugs into the United States.

Trump rejected suggestions that the US action was not about stopping drugs but was aimed at overthrowing Maduro, a long-time Trump rival, saying it was about “a lot of things.”

At least 64 people have been killed in US attacks in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since the beginning of September, according to BBC News partner CBS News.

Speaking in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump said: “Every boat you see going down is killing 25,000 people because of drugs and destroying families all over our country.”

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

While Maduro previously accused Washington of “fabricating a new war”, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the attacks on boats were being used by the US to “dominate” Latin America.

Trump said the government “will not allow” people from “all over the world” to come.

Highlighting the Aragua gang, Tren said, “They come from the Congo, they come from all over the world, they come, not just from South America. But Venezuela was especially bad. They have gangs.” He described it as “the most brutal gang in the world”.

It was Trump’s first interview with CBS since suing his parent company Paramount over a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

He claimed that the interview was arranged to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic party.”

Paramount agreed to pay $16 million (£13.5 million) to settle the case, but the money was allocated to Trump’s future presidential library and was not paid “directly or indirectly” to him. It was stated that the agreement did not include a statement of apology.

Trump last left his interview with Lesley Stahl on the 60 Minutes program in 2020, claiming that the questions were biased. He did not agree to be interviewed by the program during the 2024 elections.