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 heightened 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.
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.
