WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that U.S. military action "is possible" in Venezuela to bolster opposition leader Juan Guaido's bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

“The president has been crystal clear and incredibly consistent – military action is possible. If that’s what’s required, that’s what the United States will do,” Pompeo told Fox Business on Wednesday.

Pompeo and other officials, including President Donald Trump, have said "all options are on the table" but focused mostly on economic sanctions and other diplomatic tools.

"We are trying to do everything we can to avoid violence. … We’d prefer a peaceful transition of government there where Maduro leaves and a new election is held,” Pompeo told Fox.

Soon after Pompeo's remarks, the Pentagon announced that acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan scrubbed a trip to Europe to stay in Washington to coordinate the U.S. response to developments in Venezuela and on the southern border with the Department of Homeland Security.

Pompeo said Tuesday that Maduro was ready to flee Venezuela but changed his mind after Russia persuaded him to stay.

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“He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay,” Pompeo told CNN on Tuesday evening. He said Maduro was headed to Cuba, a close ally of the socialist leader.

Maduro and Russian officials denied Pompeo's account. "Mr. Pompeo, please, what lack of seriousness," Maduro said during a televised meeting.

Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said at the White House on Wednesday that Maduro would fall if not for the support of as many as 25,000 Cuban soldiers in Venezuela propping him up.

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An anti-government protester walks near a bus that was set on fire by opponents of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during clashes between rebel and loyalist soldiers in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan GuaidÃ³ took to the streets with a small contingent of heavily armed troops early Tuesday in a bold and risky call for the military to rise up and oust Maduro. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

"If this afternoon, 20,000-25,000 Cubans left Venezuela, I think Maduro would fall by midnight," Bolton said. "It's this foreign presence that sits on top of the military, sits on top of the government, that makes it impossible for the people's voice to be heard."

Cuban officials denied Bolton's assertion, saying the country does not have troops or security forces in the country.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s director-general of U.S. affairs, told The Associated Press there are roughly 20,000 Cubans in Venezuela but virtually all are medical workers.

Bolton and Pompeo have frequently highlighted Maduro's alliance with Cuba and Russia, portraying the internal Venezuelan conflict in broader geopolitical terms. Trump threatened a "full and complete embargo" and the "highest-level sanctions" on Cuba if the country's police and security forces didn't withdraw.

"If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and complete ... embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba," Trump tweeted Tuesday evening.

Bolton did not elaborate on Trump's threat but said he planned to hold a National Security Council meeting Wednesday afternoon to consider the administration's next move.

"We'll be considering a lot of steps," he said.

Bolton said several top officials in Maduro's regime, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, had been in talks with the opposition and signaled their desire to abandon the socialist leader. Those officials failed to make good on that move, Bolton said, but they remain possible defectors.

"I think Maduro is now surrounded by scorpions in a bottle, and it’s only a matter of time," Bolton predicted.

Tuesday, Guaido called for a popular uprising and urged the military to support him in his bid to end Maduro’s “usurpation.”

Only one high-ranking officer and a small group of soldiers have broken publicly with Maduro, according to The Associated Press.

Across Venezuela, the situation remained fluid Wednesday as Guaido urged Venezuelans to take to the streets for mass protests.

State security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters gathered in a middle-class neighborhood in western Caracas, and National Guardsmen on motorcycles arrived at the El Paraiso neighborhood as opposition demonstrations got underway.

Protesters shouted at the agents, “Stop firing at the people!”

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook; The Associated Press

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Military action is possible' in Venezuela, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says