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 tell Axios, the latter 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.

The report about Trump’s interest in negotiations coincided with the State Department’s decision on Monday to designate an alleged drug cartel in Venezuela as a foreign terrorist organization, which gives the US another pretext to launch military operations in and around this South American country.

General Dan Caine, the military commander of Operation Southern Spear, has visited Puerto Rico, where about 10,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen are stationed.

Officially, Southern Spear is a counternarcotics unit. But unofficially, it is about regime change in Caracas, Axios adds.

The date of Trump and Maduro’s phone conversation has not yet been set; it is in the planning phase, an American official told Axios.

No one dares to speculate what Trump will say to Maduro, or how he will say it. The usual phrase is being used: all options are being considered.

According to American officials, one of the difficulties in persuading Maduro is that his Cuban minders might kill him if he gives in to American pressure and steps down.