"We do not comment publicly on the internal US government deliberations," the spokesperson said. "As we have communicated previously, the administration will consider scalable options to pressure the [Nicolas] Maduro regime to restore democracy in Venezuela."
According to media reports, US officials and internal government emails indicate the Trump administration is planning to add Venezuela to the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The list currently includes Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.
READ MORE: US Preparing to List Venezuela as State Sponsor of Terrorism — Reports
The reports come after Trump's statement about signing an executive order to impose extensive new sanctions on Venezuela's gold exports.
As the US President noted, the measure was aimed against the efforts of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro's government to plunder his country's wealth for their own "corrupt purposes."
After Washington started introducing numerous sanctions against Caracas Relations between the two countries have seriously worsened.
