Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago - A US warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela, as President Donald Trump's administration continued to escalate its threatening posture.

The USS Gravely, whose upcoming arrival was announced Thursday by the Trinidadian government, docked in the capital, Port of Spain.

It is set to remain in the small Caribbean nation until Thursday, during which time a contingent of US Marines will conduct joint training with local defense forces.

The exercises are part of what many see as an imminent US assault on Venezuela, which the Trump administration has been steadily antagonizing for months.

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US forces have blown up at least 10 boats they claimed without evidence were smuggling narcotics, in a killing spree that has cost a minimum of 43 lives – including two Trinidadian men, one of whom was a fisherman.

Trump has also threatened ground attacks on suspected cartels in Venezuela while authorizing CIA operations in the country.

On Friday, the Pentagon ordered the deployment of the world's biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region.

The standoff has pulled in Colombia's Gustavo Petro, who was sanctioned by Washington on Friday in retaliation for his sharp criticism of US aggression.

In increasingly hysterical language, Washington has accused both Maduro and Petro of being "narcoterrorists."

In August, Washington deployed a fleet of eight US Navy ships, 10 F-35 warplanes and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region for anti-drug operations – the biggest military build-up in the area since the 1989 US invasion of Panama.

Venezuela has vowed to defend itself, with its military and civil militias conducting exercises in preparation for a potential US invasion.