President Donald Trump has reportedly held a conversation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro about the possibility of a meeting, as per The New York Times.

The discussion between the two leaders centred around a potential meeting amidst ongoing threats of military action by the U.S. against Venezuela , according to two individuals privy to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity last week.

These sources revealed that the dialogue included talks of a possible rendezvous between Trump and Maduro on American soil, although no plans have been set in stone as yet.

Trump’s phone call, which involved Secretary of State Marco Rubio, occurred just days before the State Department labelled Maduro as the leader of the Cartel de los Soles, a group deemed a foreign terrorist organisation by the Trump administration.

The U.S. has significantly increased its military presence in the Caribbean targeting Venezuela, citing the deterrence of drug smuggling as its primary objective. Furthermore, the administration has made it abundantly clear that it seeks to oust Maduro from power.

In October, the NYT reported that Maduro had proposed giving the U.S. a substantial stake in Venezuela’s oil fields in an attempt to alleviate tensions.

However, despite Maduro’s desire to retain power, U.S. officials terminated these discussions early last month.

The Daily Express U.S. reached out to both the White House and the State Department for comment.

The United States has conducted at least 21 strikes against suspected drug vessels operating in the Caribbean, miles from the Venezuelan coastline. These operations have resulted in at least 83 fatalities in recent months.

Earlier in November, aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and its strike group entered the US Southern Command’s area of responsibility in Latin America. Reuters originally confirmed the deployment, signalling America’s continued military build-up against Venezuela.

On Thanksgiving evening, Trump revealed that efforts to halt drug traffickers would shift to land-based operations. “The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon,” Mr Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago.