Pope Leo XIV talks to reporters aboard an airplane. (Photo: AP)

Pope Leo has urged the United States not to try to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by military force, saying Washington should look for dialogue or economic pressure instead, Reuters reported.

Speaking to reporters on his flight home from Turkey and Lebanon the first overseas trip of his papacy Leo said it was “better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure” when dealing with Venezuela.

The Trump administration has been considering different options to address what it says is Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have harmed Americans. Maduro has rejected any links to drug trafficking.

Asked about President Donald Trump’s threat to remove Maduro by force, Pope Leo said the US should look for other ways to push for change “if that is what they want to do in the United States.”

Pope Leo also said US signals on Venezuela policy were inconsistent. (AP)

Reuters has previously reported that Washington has examined scenarios that include trying to overthrow Maduro, as US forces complete months of operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking boats near Venezuela.

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Pope Leo also said US signals on Venezuela policy were inconsistent. “On one hand, it seems there was a call between the two presidents,” he said, referring to a phone conversation Trump held with Maduro last month. “On the other hand, there is the danger, there is the possibility there will be some activity, some (military) operation.”

“The voices that come from the United States, they change with a certain frequency,” he added.

Leo, elected in May and originally from Chicago, is familiar with Latin America after spending many years as a cleric in Peru, Reuters said.