Venezuela mobilizes its militia after US says it’s deploying military forces to waters around Latin America

CNN – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday the deployment of 4.5 million militiamen throughout the country, assuring that “no empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela,” after the United States doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest and increased the number of troops sailing around Latin America and the Caribbean.

Last week, the US government confirmed to CNN that it had ordered naval movements in the region to contain the threat from drug trafficking groups. On Monday, Reuters reported that three US Navy destroyers and some 4,000 military personnel would arrive at the edge of Venezuela’s territorial waters within the next 36 hours.

On Tuesday, however, a US Department of Defense official said there are currently no US ships in the area and nor have the ships received orders to head there. Venezuelan territory has almost 2,500 miles of coastline.

“This week I am going to activate a special plan to guarantee coverage with more than 4.5 million militiamen throughout the national territory. Militias prepared, activated, and armed,” Maduro said during a televised meeting with the country’s governors and mayors.

The president described the “extravagant, bizarre and outlandish” US threats as “rotten rehashes,” without specifying what he was referring to.

“We defend our seas, our skies, and our lands. We liberated them. We guard and patrol them. No empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela, nor should it touch the sacred soil of South America,” he emphasized in his speech.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Tuesday about a possible troop deployment to Venezuela following reports of the military buildup. “President (Donald) Trump has been very clear and consistent. He’s prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” she said.

She also reiterated the US government’s position that Maduro “is not a legitimate president.” Washington and Caracas have not had formal bilateral diplomatic relations since 2019.

The Venezuelan government rejected Washington’s accusation of drug trafficking, saying in a statement that the US was resorting to “threats and defamation.”

The Venezuelan Militia, which was created in 2005 by the late President Hugo Chávez and formally established in 2010, is part of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and has as its vision the “incorporation of the organized people” to guarantee the “comprehensive defense of the nation.

Maduro said he will move forward with a plan to activate peasant and worker militias “in all factories and workplaces in the country.”

“Missiles and rifles for the working class, to defend our homeland,” he said.

The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense says on its website that the FANB “is made up of around 95,000 to 150,000 active combatants” and “a growing National Militia made up of hundreds of thousands of people capable of serving as reservists.”

The Global Fire Power website, which specializes in military analyses and uses official statistics or makes estimates when they are not available, ranks Venezuela 50th in military power in the 2025 ranking, among 145 countries. The United States ranks first, Russia second, and China third.

A few weeks ago, the Trump administration doubled the reward to $50 million for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, whom it described as “one of the world’s largest drug traffickers,” head of the Cartel of the Suns, and a threat to US national security.

The Venezuelan government and other institutions in the country rejected the announcement, and several Chavista figures have dismissed the allegations. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has said that the Cartel de los Soles is an “invention” of the US, and the Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López has ‘categorically’ rejected Washington’s “ridiculous” accusations.

CNN’s Michael Rios and Haley Britzky contributed to this report.