With US warships deployed within striking distance of Venezuela, the country's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spoke Tuesday of her vision for "a new era" without President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro, whose last two re-elections were rejected as fraudulent by the United States and other countries, fears the naval deployment is a regime-change plot under the guise of an anti-drug operation.

Nobel laureate Machado has welcomed the military presence -- which has seen strikes on alleged drug boats claim at least 83 lives in the Caribbean and Pacific -- and backed Washington's claim that Maduro heads a drug cartel.

US President Donald Trump said recently that he believed Maduro's days were numbered and on Monday refused to rule out boots on the ground -- though he was open to talks with t

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