Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced that he will start “mobilizing” civilian militias after a U.S. military strike on a vessel killed 11 people Tuesday.
Maduro said the call will begin Friday, and he expects more than 8 million people to join the effort as part of what he called the “national defense system.” He claimed that a trained group of about 4.5 million people would serve as the foundation of this mobilization.
“To all Venezuelans, entire families who signed up across the country: on Friday, September 5, you’ll be called up throughout the day,” Maduro declared. He also accused the U.S. of backing “extremist movements from the north,” comparing them to Nazis, and said they aim to destabilize South America and threaten people’s rights worldwide.
Tensions rose further Thursday night when two Venezuelan jets flew close to a U.S. Navy ship. The Pentagon described the move as “highly provocative” and intended to interfere with U.S. counter-narcotics operations.
“The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military,” the Defense Department said.
The Trump administration has said it will continue conducting strikes in the region, insisting its mission is to combat drug trafficking. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Wednesday in Mexico that the order to “blow up” the vessel, instead of seizing it, came directly from President Donald Trump.
“And it will happen again,” Rubio warned. Before arriving in Mexico, he had already said that the administration planned to “go on the offense” against cartels.
Trump, Rubio explained, is prepared to use “the full power of America and the full might of the U.S. to take on and eradicate these drug cartels no matter where they’re operating from and no matter how long they’ve acted with impunity.”
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a sharp warning to Maduro. “The only one who should be worried is Nicolás Maduro, who is acting as the kingpin of a narco-state. Not actually elected and indicted for $50 million by the U.S. We know he’s involved in the kind of drug-running that has affected the American people directly,” Hegseth said.
