Venezuela announces ‘massive mobilization’ of military forces as America’s largest warship sails into region

Venezuela says it is launching a “massive mobilization” of military personnel, weapons and equipment in response to the build-up of US warships and troops in the Caribbean Sea.

Land, air, naval and reserve forces will carry out exercises through Wednesday, according to Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who described the deployment as a response to the “imperialist threat” posed by the US build-up.

In addition to regular military units, the exercises will involve the Bolivarian Militia – a reserve force made up of civilians that was created by the late President Hugo Chávez and is named after Simon Bolivar, the revolutionary who secured the independence of numerous Latin American countries from Spain.

Padrino López, who attributed the order directly to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, said the objective of the exercise was to “optimize command, control and communications” and ensure the defense of the country.

The move comes amid increasing tension between the two countries as the US build-up continues. On Tuesday, the US Navy announced the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford – America’s largest warship – had arrived in the US Southern Command area of operations, which includes most of Latin America.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Ford to make its way to the Caribbean from Europe late last month.

The strike group accompanying the Ford brings with it nine air squadrons, two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers – the USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan – the integrated air and missile defense command ship USS Winston S. Churchill, and more than 4,000 sailors.

The US has framed its build-up of forces in the region as aimed at combating drug trafficking and the flow of drugs into the United States, and has carried out strikes on numerous alleged drug boats in recent weeks.

However, Caracas believes the US is really trying to force regime change and some Trump administration officials have privately conceded their strategy is aimed at removing Maduro.

Last month, Trump said he had authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela and he has previously suggested he was weighing the possibility of strikes inside the country – though administration officials have since said the US is not currently planning such action.

In his statement Tuesday, Padrino López framed the deployment of the Venezuelan forces as part of Maduro’s wider “Independence Plan 200” – a civic-military strategy aimed at mobilizing conventional military forces alongside militia and police forces to defend the country.

Venezuela’s conventional military, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, has some 123,000 members. Maduro has also claimed that his volunteer militias now have more than 8 million reservists, though experts have called into question that number as well as the quality of the troops’ training.

With the arrival of the Ford, there are thought to be roughly 15,000 US personnel in the region.

A significant percentage of all deployed US naval assets were already in the region before the arrival of the Ford group, including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, amounting to more than 4,500 Marines and sailors, three guided-missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided missile cruiser and P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.

At the same time, the US has deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, which has become a hub for the US military as part of the increased focus on the Caribbean. The US has also deployed at least three MQ-9 reaper drones to the island, according to images captured by Reuters in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Alongside the hardware, there are thought to be around 5,000 US troops in Puerto Rico.

US bombers have also flown several training missions near the Venezuelan coast, including a bomber “attack demonstration” in late October.

CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed.