Maduro rails at 'illegal' US deployment off Venezuela

CARACAS - President Nicolas Maduro on Friday hit out at the US deployment of three warships off the coast of Venezuela as part of efforts to curb drug trafficking, calling the operation an "illegal" attempt at regime change.

President Donald Trump's administration has stepped up the pressure on Maduro, doubling its bounty to $50 million earlier this month on drug charges against the leftist strongman.

Earlier this week, a US source confirmed to AFP that three Aegis-class guided missile destroyers were heading to international waters off the South American country. US media reported that 4,000 Marines could also be deployed.

"What they're threatening to do against Venezuela -- regime change, a military terrorist attack -- is immoral, criminal and illegal," Maduro told lawmakers.

"This is a matter of peace, of international law, for Latin America and the Caribbean. Anyone who commits an act of aggression against a country in Latin America is attacking all countries," he said.

In 2020, during Trump's first term in office, Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials were indicted in US federal court on several charges including participating in a "narco-terrorism" conspiracy.

The US Justice Department accused Maduro of leading a cocaine trafficking gang called "The Cartel of the Suns" that shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades, earning hundreds of millions of dollars.

Washington does not recognize Maduro's last two election victories.

Maduro said this week that he would be deploying 4.5 million militia members across Venezuela in response to US "threats," and called for weekend rallies decrying Washington.