Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that his country is ready for "armed struggle" if attacked by the United States, as he announced the mobilisation of 2.5 million troops and militia members.
"Today, Venezuela has more national power, is more united, and is more prepared to preserve its independence and build peace under any circumstances should we have to resort to armed struggle," Maduro said in a televised address.
He accused Washington of seeking to provoke a military conflict as a pretext for invasion.
"What they were looking for was a military incident. We have not fallen for provocations, nor will we fall for them," he said.
Maduro claimed that allegations of drug trafficking were a cover for efforts to overthrow his government.
"Everyone knows that the story of drugs and drug trafficking is a plot. That's the argument. They want regime change to seize the country's wealth... to control the country's oil reserves," he said.
He warned that filling the Caribbean with "gunpowder and missiles" could trigger a major conflict.
"The United States and the entire world... know that this is a military operation to intimidate and seek regime change, to destabilise Venezuela... and to seize and steal our oil, gas, iron and gold."
Maduro said relations with Washington had collapsed following the deployment of US naval forces.
"Communications with the US government existed on two channels and were damaged at the time," he said.
"Today I can announce that communications have been destroyed by them, with their bomb threats, death threats and blackmail."
He also referred to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the "lord of death and war."
His remarks came just hours before news emerged that the US military had struck a boat allegedly transporting narcotics from Venezuela, killing three people, after an earlier attack on September 2 left 11 dead.
Tensions have escalated since the White House designated the "Cartel de los Soles" (Cartel of the Suns) a terrorist organisation in July, alleging links to Venezuelan officials.
The US has also offered a $50 million reward for Maduro's arrest and deployed warships to the Caribbean as part of its anti-drug operations.
