Caracas. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said Sunday that his country is preparing to fight should the US dare to"set foot" on its territory, following the deployment of warships in the Caribbean.

"I say to the imperialists of the North: we are preparing and we will fight if you dare to set foot in Venezuela," Padrino said during the presentation of a report on the operations of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).

In this regard, he explained that the FANB maintains patrols in its maritime and airspace throughout the Caribbean nation.

Likewise, the minister assured that the country is prepared to face any threat.

Padrino stated that the FANB is deployed in the country as part of its fight against drug trafficking.

In this regard, he reported that the Armed Forces will strengthen the deployment of officers between the western states of Táchira and Zulia, which border Colombia.

"President Nicolás Maduro has ordered us to deploy more than 15,000 troops in the first binational peace zone, which includes the states of Táchira and Zulia. What does this mean? We're going to have more Bolivarian National Armed Forces troops with combat militia deployed in that area," he commented.

He also reported that drug seizures increased from 52,769 kilos to 55,818 kilos in recent days.

The FANB destroyed 21 drug trafficking camps in the border area with Colombia, as well as seven shipyards used to transport drugs by sea.

On August 19, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the deployment of three ships carrying 4,000 troops to Caribbean waters near Venezuela.

The deployment comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas following U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's announcement in early August of a $50 million reward for information leading to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom she accuses of leading a drug cartel.

In February, the U.S. designated several drug cartels as global terrorist organizations, including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Cartel del Noreste, Carteles Unidos, and MS-13.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Cartel of the Suns entered the list at the end of July.

For its part, the Maduro government warned on Tuesday about the deployment of other US warships to the Caribbean,"among them the USS Lake Erie, a guided-missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a fast-attack nuclear submarine, whose arrival on Venezuelan shores is scheduled for early next week, as confirmed by various international sources."

The government requested the support of UN Secretary-General António Guterres in response to what it considered a "threat" from the US in the Caribbean.