The US has deployed military forces to the Caribbean in an operation said to target Latin American drug cartels.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that a United States military build-up in the Caribbean is aimed at overthrowing his government, and he was ready to “declare a republic in arms” if attacked by US forces.

In a series of rare remarks to reporters on Monday, Maduro said that Venezuela seeks peace but that his military is prepared to respond to any attacks from US forces.

“They are seeking a regime change through military threat,” Maduro told journalists. “Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”

“If Venezuela were attacked, we would immediately move to armed struggle in defence of our territory,” he said, pledging to declare “a republic in arms”.

“In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defence of Venezuela”, Maduro continued, adding that the US had sent “eight military ships with 1,200 missiles and a submarine targeting Venezuela”.

Maduro has raised alarm for weeks over a reported US naval deployment in the Southern Caribbean, in what Washington says is an operation to combat Latin American drug cartels, which has caused speculation about possible military interference against Venezuela.

In response, the Venezuelan leader has deployed troops along the South American nation’s borders and called on thousands of citizens to join armed militias to defend the nation.

The US Navy currently has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers – the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham – in the Caribbean, along with the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the waters off Latin America.

A US official told the Reuters news agency that a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine was part of the naval force.

The Associated Press news agency also reported that those forces could expand further in the coming days, with the inclusion of amphibious assault ships, with 4,000 sailors and US Marines. The US, for its part, has not announced plans to deploy any personnel to Venezuelan soil.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused Maduro of close connections to an array of drug trafficking and criminal organisations throughout the region, claims for which it has thus far failed to offer any evidence.

In August, the US doubled its reward to $50m for information leading to Maduro’s arrest over allegations of his involvement in drug trafficking.

US media reported earlier this year that an internal intelligence memo concluded that there was no evidence linking Maduro to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, undercutting a claim pushed publicly by Trump and his allies.

The allegation had also been an important component of the US administration’s push to rapidly deport Venezuelans accused of membership without due process.

Despite his frequent use of rhetoric railing against the history of US intervention in Latin America, the Venezuelan leader had previously expressed an interest in cooperating with the Trump administration in areas such as immigration enforcement, agreeing to accept Venezuelans deported from the US.

During his news conference on Monday, Maduro also insisted that he was the rightful ruler of the country after winning a third term in a strongly contested 2024 election.

The opposition has maintained that they were the true winners of that election, and neither the US nor most regional governments have recognised Maduro’s victory.