Washington DC - A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in the Latin America region on Tuesday, escalating a military buildup that Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict.

In a statement, the US Naval Forces Southern Command said the USS Gerald Ford, whose deployment was ordered nearly three weeks ago in a purported bid to help counter drug trafficking, had entered the command's area of responsibility, which encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean.

The world's largest aircraft carrier "will bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said.

Donald Trump Trump launches probe into "collusion" and "manipulation" behind high beef prices

President Donald Trump's administration is conducting a military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, deploying naval and air forces it says are aimed at curbing drug trafficking.

Washington's forces have carried out strikes on at least 20 vessels in international waters since early September, killing at least 76 people, according to US figures.

But the US has yet to release any evidence that the vessels were used to smuggle drugs or posed a threat to the country, and numerous experts have condemned the deadly strikes as extrajudicial executions.

The US operations have sparked fears in Caracas that the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is the ultimate US goal.