Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro has a "short amount of time" to leave his post with "guarantees" before the Trump administration levies tougher sanctions on Caracas, a special assistant to President Donald Trump warned Tuesday, per a report by Spanish news agency EFE.

"It is time that the United States and the countries of the Lima Group offer an exit [to Maduro] in a defined time," Mauricio Claver-Carone said in an exclusive interview at the White House. "And if he doesn't take it, the measures against him will strengthen much, much more.

"The timeline is immediate . . . and we have already communicated indirectly [to Maduro], through people he trusts. It is important that the countries of the Lima Group also do the same."

The Lima Group was set up in 2017 with the aim of helping to find a peaceful solution to the Venezuela crisis. It consists of 14 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, and others.

The U.S. and more than 50 other countries have recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's leader, but Maduro says he is Venezuela's legitimate leader and refuses to step down.

Claver-Carone, who said he was confident the Lima Group would support the deadline, added the timeline set for Maduro's departure from power is "much shorter than until the end of the year."

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