Trump ready to talk with Maduro over Venezuela drug strikes

US President Donald Trump has told his advisers he's planning to speak directly with Nicolas Maduro, even as the US designated the Venezuelan president Monday as the head of a terrorist organization, administration officials told Axios, Report informs.

Trump's decision is an important milestone in his gunboat diplomacy aimed at Venezuela - and could be a sign that US missile strikes or direct military action on land are not imminent, those sources say.

Word of Trump's interest in talking coincides with the State Department's decision Monday to label an alleged drug cartel in Venezuela as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," which provides the US more of a pretext to take military action in and around the South American nation.