President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. "may be having some discussions" with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a potential diplomatic avenue as the U.S. further builds up its military presence near the South American country with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft carrier.

Trump didn`t offer details about the possible discussions with Maduro, but he said "Venezuela would like to talk."

The U.S. military has been carrying out a series of strikes against vessels suspected of transporting drugs. The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships, announced by the Navy in a statement, marks a major moment in what the administration insists is a counterdrug operation but has been seen as an escalating pressure tactic against Maduro.

When asked Sunday what he meant when he said Maduro wants to talk, Trump simply said: "What does it mean? You tell me, I don`t know."

"I`ll talk to anybody," he added a few moments later. "We`ll see what happens."

Venezuela`s government didn`t immediately reply to a request for comment. Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S., has said the U.S. government is "fabricating" a war against him.

The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the "Operation Southern Spear" mission includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.

The carrier`s arrival coincided with the military announcing its latest deadly strike on a small boat it claims was ferrying illegal drugs. The military`s Southern Command posted a video on X on Sunday showing the boat being blown up, an attack it said took place Saturday in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed three men. The military did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

Since early September, such strikes by the U.S. in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed at least 83 people in 21 attacks.

The carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and guided-missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the Navy said.

Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it will bolster an already large force of American warships to "protect our nation`s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere."

Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander who oversees the Caribbean and Latin America, said in a statement that the American forces "stand ready to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region."

Holsey, who will retire next month after just a year on the job, said the strike group`s deployment is "a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safety of the American Homeland."