Three U.S. Navy destroyers bound for the Caribbean have yet to arrive off Venezuela's coast, but one week after the news of their deployment, uncertainty reigns among Venezuelans who don't know what to believe anymore.

The deployment of the three Aegis guided-missile destroyers has dominated conversations in the streets and at dinner tables, where the alleged threat of invasion, promoted by loyalists of President Nicolas Maduro’s ruling party as well as their opponents, are spilling over from social media and state television.

But with fake news and disinformation dominating social media, some Venezuelans said it all seems like a political theater that obscures more pressing concerns.

"I sometimes think these are things meant to cover up so people think in that and not in the reality we are living," said supermarket cashier Ana Martinez while waiting for the bus. "The reality we are living in is that what we earn is not enough."

Maduro’s government has used the news to rally its bases under a patriotic sentiment.

During the weekend, they carried out a military enlistment in the country’s militia. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López appeared at weekend rallies to encourage sign-ups.

Meanwhile, opposition figures portray the U.S. show of force as proof Maduro’s days are numbered — a familiar refrain that has long failed to materialize.

Some Caracas residents see the latest events with fatigue.

“Every so often, there’s news that apparently is going to change everything,” said Diego Romero, walking with his girlfriend. “Now it’s the ships… and in the end there’s never anything.”

Analyst Christopher Sabatini, a Latin America fellow at Chatham House, said the militaristic rhetoric benefits all sides.

“It’s all performance,” Sabitini said. “When a government feels it’s under external threat, it circles the wagons.”

The U.S. recently doubled its reward for Maduro’s arrest to 50 million dollars and accused him and his government of “narcoterrorism", but the standoff has yet to alter daily life for most Venezuelans, who continue to grapple with uncertainty and economic strain.

AP Video shot by Juan Arraez