WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that it would be "smart" for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down as tension escalates between the two leaders.

"Well, I think it probably would... That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it'd be smart for him to do that," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, when asked whether the goal was to force Maduro to leave power.

"If he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough," he added.

Trump also confirmed that the United States had been pursuing a sanctioned oil tanker over the weekend.

Multiple U.S. media outlets reported Sunday that the U.S. Coast Guard "is in active pursuit" of the oil tanker Bella 1 in international waters off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was en route to Venezuela to load cargo.

The New York Times reported on Monday that the tanker had fled into the Atlantic Ocean. If intercepted, it would mark the third oil tanker successfully seized by the United States off Venezuela in less than two weeks.

Last week, Trump ordered a "full and total blockade" of all sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, declaring Maduro's government a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

The Pentagon has deployed around a dozen warships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, a major aircraft carrier, and about 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea, which shares a significant amount of coastline with Venezuela. The region has not seen such a massive U.S. military presence for at least three decades.

In a phone interview with NBC News last week, Trump said that he did not rule out the possibility of a war with the oil-rich South American nation.

Venezuela has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking regime change and military expansion in Latin America, condemning the interception of oil tankers as "piracy."

Maduro, without directly referring to Trump's words, emphasized that every leader should focus on the domestic matters of their own nation.

"If I speak to him again, I will tell him: each country should mind its own internal affairs," Maduro said on Monday in a televised address. ■