Venezuela’s defence minister says military vessels and drones will be sent to patrol the country’s coastline amid simmering tension with the United States after Washington deployed warships to waters off Venezuela to fight drug trafficking.

In a video on social media on Tuesday, Minister of Defence Vladimir Padrino announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along the country’s Caribbean coast, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters”.

The move comes after Washington last week deployed an amphibious squadron of three warships towards Venezuela’s coast in what it said was an operation against Latin American drug cartels.

News agencies reported on Monday that two more US ships – a guided missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered fast-att

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