With US Navy warships roaring off Venezuela’s coast, President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday that a plan to defend against “American threats” is now complete.

Washington accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel and has deployed significant military assets — including stealth warplanes and several US Navy ships — as part of what it says are counter-narcotics efforts in the Caribbean.

Maduro, an authoritarian socialist who is widely accused of stealing elections last year, says Washington is plotting regime change.

Trump has indicated that he authorized covert CIA operations against Venezuela, without offering specifics.

Maduro has responded to the big US military operation by ordering exercises around the country and positioning soldiers at the borders.

“Today we have completed all the country’s integrated defense zones,” Maduro said in a recording released on Telegram.

He also announced a new military exercise he called Independence 200.

Many such exercises are carried out at night and do not conclude with a new, permanent positioning of military forces.

State TV aired footage of soldiers leaving barracks.

Police, civil protection staff, and civilian militia members have also taken part in Venezuela’s exercises amid tensions with the United States.

US forces in the Caribbean have now attacked at least six vessels that Washington said were taking drugs from Venezuela toward the United States, killing at least 27 people.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had proposed extensive concessions to defuse mounting tensions with the United States.

The White House has long accused Maduro of leading a narcotics syndicate, prompting the deployment of substantial military resources—such as stealth fighters and a flotilla of seven U.S. Navy vessels—in what officials describe as a regional anti-drug initiative.

Maduro, a socialist strongman criticized internationally for alleged election fraud in the previous year, insists that Washington is scheming to overthrow his government.

During a White House briefing, Trump dismissed inquiries about rumored de-escalation overtures from Caracas with sharp rhetoric.

“He’s given us everything, you’re spot on. And you know what? He doesn’t want to mess with America,” Trump remarked bluntly.

On Thursday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez rejected a Miami Herald story claiming she had engaged in secret talks with U.S. officials about a potential Maduro exit.

The strikes, targeting at least six vessels—primarily fast speedboats—mark an aggressive U.S. operation in the Caribbean that began in September, with Venezuela implicated as a launch point for some.

Reports from CBS and NBC, based on anonymous U.S. sources, indicated that the most recent assault resulted in survivors aboard the vessel. Later Friday, American outlets revealed that two survivors were now detained by the U.S. Navy, though details on their health or interrogation status remained undisclosed.

Trump described the vessel as a “specially designed drug submarine loaded with huge quantities of narcotics.

“These semi-submersible craft, constructed in hidden jungle facilities, have long facilitated cocaine shipments from South American producers—especially Colombia—to Central America or Mexico, often routing through the Pacific.

U.S. authorities hail the Caribbean offensive as a major setback for traffickers, yet they have released no proof linking the 27 confirmed fatalities to smuggling activities.

Legal scholars argue that these extrajudicial strikes violate international law, even against verified cartel members.

The operations have implicated neighboring countries. Trinidad and Tobago authorities are probing the deaths of two local nationals in a Wednesday raid, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro has voiced suspicions that his citizens have perished in the assaults.

In a bold move this week, Trump vowed to intensify pressure on Venezuela, sparking talk of regime-change ambitions within his team. He hinted at greenlighting clandestine CIA missions and mulling overland attacks.

Midweek, B-52 bombers from U.S. bases patrolled the Caribbean skies near Venezuela for hours, as tracked by Flightradar24. In retaliation, Venezuela has mobilized 17,000 soldiers to Táchira state along the Colombian frontier.