Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro asserted Friday the United States was "fabricating a war" as Washington sent an aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, building up a military deployment there.

"They are fabricating a new eternal war; they promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war that we are going to prevent," Maduro told state broadcasters.

Washington is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group to counter drug-trafficking organizations in Latin America, the Pentagon said Friday -- scaling up a military buildup that is fueling fears of war.

US President Donald Trump launched a military campaign in September, including 10 F-35 stealth warplanes and eight US Navy ships, in a campaign he said was aimed at "narco-terrorists."

Strikes on at leas

See Full Page