Venezuela on Monday accused the United States of threatening its sovereignty by pointing "1,200 missiles" from US ships in the Caribbean Sea.

The US deployed warships to the southern Caribbean in what the White House called an anti-drug trafficking operation.

The US Coast Guard and Navy ships have a presence in the southern Caribbean, but the recent buildup has been significantly larger than usual deployments in the region.

"Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years," Maduro told journalists, officials, and uniformed military brass in Caracas.

"A situation like this has never been seen," he added.

US President Donald Trump's administration has accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and had recently doubled the bounty for the Venezuelan president's capture to $50 million (€42.7 million).

Maduro vows 'maximum preparedness'

In response to the perceived threat, Maduro said he "would constitutionally declare a republic in arms" if the South American country were attacked.

The US has so far denied any plans to invade Venezuela, but relations between the two countries have grown sour, with the US not recognizing Maduro's last two re-elections in 2024 and 2018.

The Venezuelan president said the US was "seeking a regime change through military threat."

"In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela," Maduro said regarding the deployment of US ships, which he characterized as "an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat."

Guyana supports US deployment

Meanwhile, Venezuela's neighbor Guyana welcomed the US military deployment.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated since ExxonMobil discovered massive oil deposits a decade ago off the coast of Essequibo, a region that makes up two-thirds of Guyana's territory but is disputed by Venezuela.

President Irfaan Ali said his country "will support anything to eliminate any threat to our security" in response to a question about the deployment of US warships to the Caribbean near the Venezuelan coast.

On Sunday, Guyana publicly accused Venezuela of firing shots at a boat carrying election materials in the oil-rich Essequibo region, which both countries claim.

Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez responded on Monday by accusing Guyana of "trying to create a war front."

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko