Venezuela said it was beginning a “massive mobilization” of military personnel, weapons and equipment in response to the buildup of U.S. warships and troops in the Caribbean.
Army, air, naval and reserve forces will carry out exercises until Wednesday, according to Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who said the deployment was a response to the “imperialist threat” posed by the U.S. military buildup.
In addition to regular military forces, Bolivarian militia will also participate in the exercise. The Bolivarian Militia is a reserve army of civilians created by the late President Hugo Chávez and named after Simón Bolívar, the revolutionary who led many Latin American countries to independence from Spain.
Padrino López attributed the order to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and said the exercise was aimed at “optimizing command, control and communications” to ensure the country’s defense.
The move comes amid rising tensions between the two countries as the United States continues to build up its military capabilities. On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy announced that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s largest warship, had arrived in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, which includes much of Latin America.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered Ford to leave Europe for the Caribbean late last month.
Accompanying Ford are nine aviation squadrons, two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers (USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan), the Joint Air and Missile Defense Command Ship USS Winston S. Churchill, and more than 4,000 sailors.
The United States has aimed its troop buildup in the region to combat drug trafficking and the flow of drugs into the United States, and has attacked a number of suspected drug vessels in recent weeks.
But Caracas believes the U.S. is really trying to force regime change, and some Trump administration officials have privately acknowledged that their strategy is aimed at removing Maduro.
President Trump last month said he had authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela and previously suggested he was considering the possibility of an attack inside the country, but administration officials have since said the United States is not currently planning any such action.
In a statement Tuesday, Padrino López called the deployment of Venezuelan troops part of President Maduro’s broader “Independence Plan 200,” a civil-military strategy aimed at mobilizing regular armed forces alongside militias and police to protect the country.
Venezuela’s regular army, the Bolivarian National Army, has about 123,000 members. President Maduro has also claimed that his volunteer militia currently has more than 8 million reservists, but experts have questioned their numbers and the quality of the military’s training.
With Ford’s arrival, approximately 15,000 U.S. military personnel are believed to be stationed in the area.
A significant percentage of all deployed U.S. naval assets are already in the region, including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, representing more than 4,500 Marines and sailors, three missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided missile cruiser, and a P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
At the same time, the United States deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, where the U.S. military is based, as part of its increased interest in the Caribbean. The United States has also deployed at least three MQ-9 Reaper drones to the island, according to images taken by Reuters in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. In addition to the hardware, there are believed to be approximately 5,000 U.S. troops stationed in Puerto Rico.
U.S. bombers also flew several training missions near the Venezuelan coast, including a bomber “strike demonstration” in late October.
