Venezuela orders nationwide militia mobilization in response to US naval buildup

CARACAS, Venezuela (MNTV) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the mobilization of the National Bolivarian Militia, citing the United States’ growing military presence in the Caribbean as a threat to the country’s sovereignty.

According to state broadcaster VTV, the plan will see 15,751 popular defense bases and 5,336 communal militia units mobilized nationwide for the first time. Maduro said citizens continue to enlist through a digital platform, with the total number of trained volunteers expected to surpass 8 million. Around 4.5 million have already been trained over the years, he added.

“The courage of the Venezuelan people inspires admiration around the world,” Maduro said, stressing that Venezuela has the capacity to preserve peace and defend itself under all circumstances. He accused Washington of pushing “extremist currents and Nazi tendencies from the north, which threaten the peace of South America and the Caribbean and continue to attack the rights of our peoples.”

The move comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing greater military action against Latin American drug cartels. Washington has long accused Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles, which the US Treasury Department designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group on July 25, 2025.

On August 8, the US government doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction, raising it from $25 million to $50 million. Ten days later, Maduro vowed to resist any intervention, declaring: “We will defend our seas, our skies, and our land. We will liberate them, patrol them, and guard them. No empire can touch Venezuela’s sacred soil, nor should it violate the sacred lands of South America.”

Reports indicate that, following the executive order, a US naval group — including a submarine and seven warships — was deployed toward the Caribbean near Venezuelan waters.