President Donald Trump this week hinted that he expected Nicolás Maduro to leave his post as president of Venezuela in the relatively near future.

"How far would you go to take Maduro out of office?" asked Politico's Dasha Burns during an interview on "The Conversation."

"I don't want to say that. His days are numbered," Trump told her.

The remarks come amid an ongoing standoff in the Caribbean Sea, with the U.S. targeting suspected drug boats departing the country and Trump suggesting that direct strikes on Venezuelan territory may be forthcoming.

The Trump administration previously designated Maduro as the leader of a narco-trafficking operation and increased the bounty for his capture earlier this year.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.