Venezuela's Maduro says US seeking regime change with naval buildup

(NewsNation) — The United States is seeking regime change in his country with a naval deployment in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday in a rare press conference.

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have risen in recent weeks amid a large U.S. naval buildup in the southern Caribbean and nearby waters, which U.S. officials say aims to address threats from Latin American drug cartels.

“In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela,” Maduro said of the deployment, which he characterized as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.”

President Donald Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border.

The U.S. Navy now has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers — the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham — in the Caribbean, as well as the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the waters off Latin America. That military presence is set to expand.

Three amphibious assault ships — a force that encompasses more than 4,000 sailors and Marines — would be entering the region this week, a defense official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to describe ongoing operations.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.