(CNN) President Donald Trump last August asked several top foreign policy advisers about the possibility of invading Venezuela during a meeting about diplomatic sanctions the US was enacting on the autocratic government, a senior administration official familiar with the comments said.

Trump's aides, including then-national security adviser HR McMaster, vigorously urged him against the notion of a military invasion of Venezuela, warning him it could backfire and explaining that US allies in the region were firmly opposed to such drastic action. Taking military action against Venezuela would be a dramatic escalation of the US's so-far solely diplomatic and sanctions-focused response to the political and economic crisis roiling the South American country.

Still, the official with knowledge of Trump's private comments noted there was "no imminent plan for a military strike" and chalked the comments up to Trump thinking "out loud."

"The President says and thinks a lot of different things," the official said. "He just thinks out loud."

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro reacted to Trump's comments on Wednesday, urging the country's armed forces not to "lower their guard."

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