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PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has rejected new claims from the Venezuelan government about the presence of US naval vessels in the southern Caribbean Sea as the prelude to an American military invasion of the South American nation.

She made this comment on September 1 in response to statements made by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro about the US naval vessels being deployed outside of Venezuela's territorial waters for what the Trump administration has said is an operation to combat drug cartels. Maduro held a media conference earlier in the day.

Maduro said he would "constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if Venezuela was attacked by US military forces that have been deployed to the Caribbean.