BBC Verify has been tracking the warships and planes involved in the military build-up so far. The build-up in the Caribbean began in August with the deployment of air and naval forces, including a nuclear-powered submarine and spy planes according to US officials.

Venezuela’s air defenses are old and ill-maintained, but state militias are well-armed, and a guerrilla campaign could erupt.

The poll additionally found that most Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration, at 55 percent, and believe that ICE is stopping more people than necessary, at 54 percent.

BBC Verify has used flight tracking data to identify four US military aircraft flying near Venezuela last night. These include a long-range bomber, a surveillance aircraft, a fighter jet, and a refuelling tanker.

The arrival near Latin America of the US Navy’s “most lethal combat platform” has put the spotlight on a fighting force that has a tough image but has been weakened by years of economic crisis.

The advisory comes as the US has significantly upped its military presence across the Caribbean amid drug-trafficking concerns.

New Department of Defense images show the U.S. deploying naval and air forces near Venezuela under Operation Southern Spear.

Any U.S. war in Venezuela would be slow, costly, and strategically self-defeating. Caracas’s escalation over Guyana, tight ties to Russia, China, and Iran, and entrenched criminal networks might someday trigger intervention—but air dominance and quick strikes would only be the opening act.