Donald Trump spoke with Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, discussed meeting: Report

Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attend a military ceremony at Fuerte Tiuna, in Caracas(Photo: AFP)

US President Donald Trump spoke by phone last week with leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, with the two rivals discussing a possible meeting in the United States, The New York Times reported on Friday.

The reported call comes as Trump's administration piles pressure on Venezuela with a major military deployment in the Caribbean that includes the world's largest aircraft carrier. Washington says the aim is curbing drug trafficking but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Times report, which said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also in on the call.

US forces have carried out strikes against more than 20 alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing more than 80 people.

Washington has yet to release evidence that the vessels it targeted were used to smuggle drugs or posed a threat to the United States. And regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign and the accompanying military buildup.

The report about the Trump-Maduro call comes a day after the US president said efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking by land were imminent, further ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

"You probably noticed that people aren't wanting to be delivering by sea, and we'll be starting to stop them by land," he said in remarks to US troops, adding: "Also the land is easier, but that's going to start very soon."