BEDMINSTER, United States — US President Donald Trump said Friday he was considering military options as a response to the escalating crisis in Venezuela, describing the situation there as a “very dangerous mess.”

“We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey.

“We have troops all over the world in places that are very far away. Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and they’re dying.”

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The comments came two days after his administration imposed new sanctions on Venezuela, targeting members of a loyalist assembly installed last week to bolster what Washington calls the “dictatorship” of President Nicolas Maduro.

The Venezuelan government responded to the sanctions by saying the US was “making a fool of itself in front of the world.”

Trump said Venezuela’s ongoing crisis was among the topics discussed at the talks he hosted in New Jersey on Friday with his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

“Venezuela is a mess. It is very dangerous mess and a very sad situation,” Trump said.