"The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military," the Defense Department said on X.

Washington has deployed warships in the south Caribbean as tensions rise between US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States accuses of leading a drug cartel.

On Tuesday, US forces blew up an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean that Trump said belonged to the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization he tied to Maduro, killing 11 people.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a trip to Latin America, defended the new aggressive approach in a joint press conference with Ecuador Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld in Quito on Thursday.

"Now, they're going to help us find these people and blow them up if that's what it takes," Rubio said.

In remarks made in Mexico on Wednesday, Rubio said: "These cartels know they're going to lose two percent of their cargo... What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them."

- 'Not stockbrokers' -

In Mexico, Rubio emphasized that Trump has designated Venezuelan groups like the Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles as "narcoterrorist organizations."

"These are not stockbrokers. These are not real estate agents who on the side deal a few drugs," Rubio said.

"If you're on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl headed to the United States, you're an immediate threat to the United States."

Caracas accused Washington of committing extrajudicial killings in the attack, saying "they murdered 11 people without due process."

The attack, whose details could not be independently verified by AFP, marks a dramatic escalation by the United States, which has for decades relied on routine policing operations rather than deadly force to seize drugs.

Maduro has responded by mobilizing Venezuela's military which numbers around 340,000, and reservists, which he claims exceed eight million, denouncing what he calls "the greatest threat our continent has seen in the last 100 years."

"If Venezuela were attacked, it would immediately enter a period of armed struggle," Maduro told foreign correspondents.