BOGOTA, Colombia

Supporters of the Venezuelan government turned out during the weekend to enroll in the country's militia following President Nicolas Maduro's order to mobilize 4.5 million members in response to the recent deployment by the US of warships to the Caribbean.

The military deployment, ordered by President Donald Trump, includes three guided-missile destroyers, an amphibious squadron, at least 4,500 sailors and some 22,000 marines, the Navy confirmed.

According to the Pentagon, the purpose of the heightened naval presence is to combat drug cartels in the region. The naval deployment is unfolding against the backdrop of deepening US-Venezuela tensions as the US Justice Department recently doubled its reward to $50 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest, having accused him of being one of the world’s largest drug traffickers.

In response, Maduro last week announced the deployment of 4.5 million militiamen across the country. He has urged people to participate in the mass registration, calling the US naval operations an "unacceptable provocation."

"We will defend our seas, our skies, and our lands," he said, referring to any incursion.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has claimed that "very few high-ranking military officers are supporting Maduro."

Some Caribbean governments have been speaking of the mission. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has weighed in on the US deployment, stating that it gives its "full support" to the presence of "American military assets" aimed at dismantling drug cartels.

“Trinidad and Tobago has always had good relations with the Venezuelan people, and that will continue,” Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said in a statement.

“However, I want to make it very clear that if the Maduro regime launches any attack against the Guyanese people or invades Guyanese territory and a request is made by the American government for access to Trinidadian territory to defend the people of Guyana, my government will unflinchingly provide them that access.”

Guyana and Venezuela have been engaged in a border dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region.

On Friday, Guyana said the government is “committed to working with our bilateral partners to find meaningful solutions and will support regional and global initiatives aimed at dismantling criminal networks to safeguard our shared security.”