Venezuela has deployed 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia in an effort to combat drug trafficking, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday. The reinforcements, stationed across Zulia and Táchira states, come as the United States dispatches two more warships to the southern Caribbean to strengthen its anti-drug cartel operation. The parallel military moves underscore escalating tensions, with Washington accusing President Nicolás Maduro and senior officials of working with cartels while Caracas denounces the U.S. campaign as an imperialist threat.

Cabello said the military presence would include aircraft, drones, and riverine security to counter “criminal groups” active along the Colombia-Venezuela border. He added that authorities had seized 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year. Cabello also urged Colombian authorities to step up cooperation to “ensure peace along the entire axis.” The troop deployment follows U.S. accusations that Maduro and Cabello are linked to the Cartel de los Soles, which Washington has designated a terrorist organization.

U.S. Warships In The Caribbean

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a fast-attack submarine, will arrive in the southern Caribbean by next week. They will join an amphibious squadron consisting of the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale, carrying about 4,500 U.S. personnel, including 2,200 Marines. The Trump administration has intensified its focus on Latin American cartels, recently doubling the reward for Maduro’s capture to $50 million and for Cabello to $25 million.

President Maduro rejected the U.S. accusations as part of a regime-change agenda. He announced a nationwide mobilization drive to recruit thousands of militia members, saying Venezuela would resist any foreign intervention. “I am confident that we will overcome this imperialist threat to the peace of the continent and to our country,” Maduro said in a televised address. The moves highlight a deepening standoff, with both Venezuela and the U.S. reinforcing their military posture in the region.