Tensions in the Caribbean are surging as the United States dispatched three Aegis-equipped destroyers—the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson—to waters near Venezuela, aiming to bolster its counter-narcotics operations, according to U.S. defense officials.

As US destroyers closed in on Venezuela's coast on Thursday, China condemned Washington's military build-up and warned against foreign interference, backing Nicolas Maduro in a showdown that is drawing in powers far beyond the Caribbean.

China's foreign ministry opposed the American naval deployment near Venezuela amid the Trump administration's effort to combat drug cartels and pressure the Maduro regime.