US President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Gimhae International Airport terminal. Daniel Torok/White House/dpa

US President Donald Trump denied on Friday he had decided to strike inside Venezuela as part of a military campaign against drug cartels.

“There are reports that you considering strikes within Venezuela. Is that true?” a reported ask Trump on Air Force One as the president flew to Florida for the weekend.

“No,” Trump replied.

When pressed again on whether a decision had been made, he said: “No, it’s not true.”

The Miami Herald and the Wall Street Journal, citing people briefed on the matter, recently reported that US strikes on Venezuela could come soon, targeting military facilities allegedly used for drug smuggling.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to take tough action against drug cartels.

“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK?” he said earlier this week. “We’re going to kill them, you know? They’re going to be, like, dead.”

He also raised the possibility of ground operations without explicitly naming Venezuela.

The mounting US military activity has also stoked fears in Venezuela of a US attack aimed at pushing the authoritarian government of President Nicolás Maduro out of power.

Two weeks ago, Trump disclosed that he had approved covert operations by the Central Intelligence Agency in Venezuela.

Since September, the administration has authorized strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific said to be carrying narcotics to the US The strikes, many allegedly linked to Venezuelan criminal organizations, have killed at least 61 people.

Critics say the actions amount to extrajudicial killings in international waters.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH