Venezuela's authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, has tightened his security measures while making carefully planned public appearances to garner support ahead of possible US military action.

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The recent public appearances — including a rally in Caracas last weekend and a televised event with grassroots supporters on Wednesday — have been announced at the last minute, with Maduro appearing alongside lower-ranking party members in front of select crowds of public sector workers and members of his socialist party apparatus.

This marks a change from before the United States began to build a significant naval presence in the Caribbean and attack ships that it says are trafficking drugs.

Previously, Maduro's public speeches were usually anticipated and he appeared alongside senior regime officials and high-ranking military officers, who are now absent to prevent important figures from being attacked together, analysts said.

“Maduro is deploying classic security protocols for when a person is being threatened,” said José García, a Venezuelan military analyst who has monitored Maduro’s security procedures.

"If you organize a public event, you make sure there are hundreds of people there, so that the United States doesn't attack without having to go through several people first."

Washington has deployed 12 warships, including the most advanced aircraft carrier in the US fleet, and thousands of troops in the largest US naval concentration in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It has carried out at least 21 lethal attacks against ships outside Venezuelan waters.

Maduro, who survived the “maximum pressure” sanctions imposed by the United States during President Donald Trump’s first term, views the attacks as precursors to a “regime change.”