President Trump was asked at the weekend whether he would contemplate US missile strikes in Venezuela to destroy the cartels the White House says operate there. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “Look,

U.S. President Donald Trump refused to rule out removing Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, as relations sour between the U.S. and Venezuela and the White House plugs on with its war on drug cartels in the region.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said his country had "knocked off" three boats in total from Venezuela, a day after he confirmed a second deadly US strike on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean.

Venezuela's foreign ministry said nine fishermen were "illegally and hostilely" detained on Friday by the USS Jason Dunham.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that recent incidents between his country and the United States are an "aggression" by the U.S., not tensions between the two countries, and that there is no communication between the governments.

Trump officials say the military build-up is aimed at stopping cartels, but they have also increased attacks on Maduro.

Military tensions between Washington and Caracas are spiraling toward a breaking point as U.S. forces surge across the Caribbean.

U.S. President Donald Trump designated on Monday countries such as Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia and Venezuela among those the United States believes to have "failed demonstrably" in upholding counternarcotics agreements during the past year.