Faced with a major US naval build-up near its waters, Venezuela has flexed its muscle by conducting military exercises, arming civilians and deploying thousands of troops to its land and sea borders.

But military experts take a dim view of Venezuela's combat readiness, saying years of crisis have made a paper tiger of its armed forces.

President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of pursuing regime change in Venezuela under the guise of an operation to combat drug trafficking.

Washington, which accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel, has dispatched eight warships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the southern Caribbean and sent 10 fighter jets to nearby Puerto Rico in the biggest naval build-up in the region in years.

President Donald Trump claims US forces have blown up th

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