Trump warns Maduro as US escalates pressure campaign on Venezuela

President Donald Trump issued a warning to Nicolas Maduro (Alex Brandon/AP)

President Donald Trump delivered a new warning to VenezuelanPresident Nicolas Maduro as the US Coast Guard stepped up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the administration’s escalating pressure campaign on the government in Caracas.

Mr Trump was surrounded by his top national security aides, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as he suggested that he remains ready to further escalate his four-month pressure campaign on the Maduro government, which began with the stated purpose of stemming the flow of illegal drugs from the South American nation but has developed into something more amorphous.