CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States of orchestrating a campaign against him as the world’s largest warship draws near the South American nation.

During a Friday night broadcast, Maduro charged President Donald Trump’s administration with “manufacturing a new perpetual conflict.”

The tension has escalated with the U.S. positioning the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier capable of hosting up to 90 planes and attack helicopters, closer to Venezuelan shores.

“They vowed not to engage in further wars, yet they are concocting a conflict that we aim to prevent,” Maduro stated. Trump has previously alleged, without substantiation, that Maduro leads the Tren de Aragua crime syndicate.

Maduro denounced the claims as “a sensational narrative, vulgar and entirely unfounded,” emphasizing, “Venezuela is not a producer of coca leaves.”

American forces have destroyed several boats off the Venezuelan coast, allegedly for their role in trafficking drugs into the U.S. At least 43 people were killed in those attacks.

Tren de Aragua, which traces its roots to a Venezuelan prison, is not known for having a big role in global drug trafficking but for its involvement in contract killings, extortion and human smuggling.

Maduro was widely accused of stealing last year’s election, and countries including the U.S. have called for him to go.