China's foreign ministry opposed the American naval deployment near Venezuela amid the Trump administration's effort to combat drug cartels and pressure the Maduro regime.

The U.S. deployed three Navy missile destroyers and around 4,000 military personnel to the waters off Venezuela in effort to thwart cartels.

The U.S. military has also reportedly deployed several vessels to the southern Caribbean, as part of President Trump's crackdown on Latin American drug cartels.

The Trump administration says Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro is not a legitimate president but the head of a drug-trafficking cartel indicted in the United States.

The president has "pushed for using the U.S. military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs," said The Associated Press. As part of this military force, Trump dispatched a trio of U.

Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro called on friendly countries to "unite" to defend its "right to sovereignty, peace and self-determination" as U.S. warships move off its coast. Speaking at an extraordinary ALBA-TCP summit,

The move appears to be an escalation in conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela’s Maduro regime as Trump continues an aggressive effort to combat Latin American cartels. Reuters is reporting that around 4,000 Marines and others could potentially be deployed to the Caribbean region as well.

The Arleigh Burke destroyers play a critical role in the Navy’s operations. The White House has labeled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro a “narco-terrorist” and is following up with action. Maduro notably remains a fugitive from a 2020 US indictment on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.

The deployment of three Aegis-class guided missile destroyers comes as Donald Trump has pushed for using the US military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into American communities.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday the deployment of 4.5 million militiamen throughout the country after the United States doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest and increased the number of troops sailing around Latin America and the Caribbean.