WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States (US) President Donald Trump is dispatching two more ships to the Caribbean to crack down on drug cartels, a US source said Tuesday, a week after sending warships towards Venezuela.

A guided missile crusier, the USS Erie, and a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the USS Newport News, are due in the region next week, the source familiar with the move told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Further details about their mission were not immediately available.

The deployment comes after Trump last week deployed three warships off the Venezuelan coast as part of efforts to curb drug trafficking by what his administration calls “narco-terrorist groups.”

The United States recently stepped up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, doubling its bounty to $50 million earlier this month on drug charges against the leftist strongman.

Maduro said in response that he would mobilise millions of militia members to counter US “threats.”