Nicolás Maduro announced the deployment of 4.5 million military personnel in response to U.S. threats. After increasing the bounty for information leading to the capture of the Chavista leader, as well as the anti-narcotics operation with military forces in the Caribbean.
“This week I will activate a special plan to ensure coverage with over 4.5 million militiamen across the entire national territory, prepared, activated, and armed militias,” Maduro emphasized during an event broadcast on TV.
Bounty for Maduro’s Arrest Increased
The Venezuelan leader ordered “tasks” against “the renewal of the extravagant, outlandish, and bizarre threats from the United States against Venezuela,” AFP reported.
The administration of President Donald Trump increased the bounty to $50 million for “information leading to the arrest” of Maduro, who is accused by U.S. authorities of alleged ties to drug trafficking, specifically with the Cartel of the Suns.
The Militia, made up of around 5 million reservists according to official figures, was created by former President Hugo Chávez. It later became one of the five components of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), DW reported.
“The first to step forward to express their solidarity and support for this working-class president standing here are the military of this nation, stepping forward with their rifles, missiles, tanks, and aircraft—the Bolivarian National Armed Forces took the lead,” Maduro celebrated.
U.S. Sends Destroyers to Venezuelan Coasts
The government of Donald Trump ordered the deployment of three U.S. Navy destroyers to the coasts of Venezuela as part of an offensive against Latin American drug cartels, Reuters reported.
The guided-missile ships will arrive in the area within the next 36 hours, marking one of Washington’s largest naval deployments in the Caribbean in recent years.
“Rifles and missiles for the peasant force! To defend the territory, sovereignty, and peace of Venezuela,” he said. “Missiles and rifles for the working class, to defend our homeland,” Maduro concluded his speech.
Image: DiarioNY
