DONALD Trump said on Friday the US "has nothing to do" with "rogue" fighters that allegedly tried to take down Venezuela's president.

Trump's comments came after reports that the US knew a group, including two US citizens, tried to take down President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump denied America having any involvement in what Venezuela has claimed was an assassination attempt on Maduro's life.

"No we have nothing to do with it," Trump told Fox & Friends of the alleged attack.

"If I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn’t make a secret about it."

He added: "They would roll over."

"I wouldn’t send a small little group no," the President said. "It would be an army."

Venezuela has claimed that a group of mercenaries were caught trying to take down Maduro in a beach storm on May 3.

The country's government claimed they captured and arrested Luke Denman and Airan Berry among a group of eight mercenaries when they were caught "playing Rambo".

"The United States government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid," Maduro claimed.

"They were playing Rambo. They were playing hero," he added.

Denman was paraded on Venezuelan TV, as he claimed ex-Green Beret Jordan Goudreau and Trump ordered him to take Maduro from the Maiquetia "Simon Bolivar" Airport.

Berry also was paraded on Venezuelan TV yesterday, as he was interrogated by officials.

One expert said that both Berry and Denman gave secret eye signals on TV so people know they are lying.

Goudreau – who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and reportedly worked as a security guard at a Trump rally – has claimed he was leading an operation to capture Maduro.

"This was a rogue group… a lot of Venezuelans," Trump told Fox on Friday of the alleged operation.
He added: "This was not a good attack."

"I know nothing about it," he said. "The government has nothing to do with it at all."

He added that he wants to "find out what happened," and said US involvement would look "different."

"If we ever did anything with Venezuela it would be slightly different. It would be called an invasion," Trump said.

Reports surfaced that the US government knew about weapons being smuggled into training camps by Goudreau.

The DEA was tipped off about the smuggling, but did not know who Goudreau was, and did not open a formal probe into the incident, government officials told the AP.

It was assumed the weapons were being smuggled for leftist rebels or criminal gangs in Colombia.

Information about the smuggling was passed from the DEA to the Department of Homeland Security.

US Government officials including Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have denied knowing anything about the alleged attempt on Maduro.

"There was no US government direct involvement in this operation," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department on Wednesday.

"If we had been involved, it would have turned out differently," he added.

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