Floats talks with Maduro amid escalation

President Donald Trump said on Monday he has not ruled out putting American forces on the ground in Venezuela, while expressing a willingness to hear directly from Nicolas Maduro regarding the Venezuelan leader's proposals to avert further US military escalation.

Asked if he would rule out US troops on the ground in the South American country, Trump said: "No, I don't rule out that, I don't rule out anything."

Still, questioned if he would speak to Maduro directly, Trump told reporters at the White House: "I probably would talk to him, yeah. I talk to everybody."

Maduro, when asked about Trump's comments on Monday, said differences should be resolved through diplomacy and that he is willing to hold face-to-face talks with anyone interested.

"In the United States, whoever wants to talk with Venezuela will talk, face to face, without any problem," Maduro said.

The US has been waging a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America.

Maduro has repeatedly alleged that a US military buildup in the Caribbean is designed to drive him from power.

Taken as a whole, Trump's comments suggest he is willing to dramatically escalate his administration's confrontation with Venezuela, even as he is open to seeking an off-ramp if presented with an interesting enough proposal from the Venezuelan government.