A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Latin America Tuesday, escalating a military buildup Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict as it announced its own "massive" deployment.

The most advanced U.S. aircraft carrier is expected to reach the waters off Venezuela in days, a flex of American military power not seen in Latin America for generations.

The U.S. officials did not specify the location of the carrier, only that it had moved into the U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility for Latin America, a broad area that includes large secti...