Maduro calls on militias and civilians to join national defense

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is rallying the nation’s militias and civilians to bolster the country’s defense, announcing a nationwide enlistment drive this weekend amid escalating tensions with the United States.

Speaking in Caracas before hundreds of soldiers and militia members, Maduro urged all Venezuelans to join the “National Plan for Sovereignty and Peace.”

“I have called for next Saturday and Sunday at military barracks, military units, central public squares, Bolívar squares, and at the headquarters of the 15,751 popular bases for integral defense, for a process of national enlistment of all militia forces, of the entire Bolivarian National Militia.”

The call-up comes as Washington has deployed U.S. Navy destroyers to the Caribbean, a move the Trump administration says is intended to curb drug trafficking. Maduro, however, framed the mobilization as part of a long-term defense strategy rather than a reactionary measure.

“I call on all militiamen, militiawomen, reservists, and all people who want to enlist and join the ranks of the great National Plan for Sovereignty and Peace. We have made the construction of a system, not for a specific juncture … we have not built this for this juncture of threats and aggression where the empire has gone crazy.”

During the event, a militia official presented Maduro with a scale model of the coastal city of La Guaira, demonstrating how “communal militias” would respond to an attack.

The militias, originally created by the late President Hugo Chávez, have swelled to millions of members and now form a central pillar of Maduro’s strategy to resist international pressure. The U.S. government has tightened sanctions against Venezuela and placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of corruption and drug trafficking.

Maduro insists the enlistment campaign reflects Venezuela’s sovereignty and unity, positioning the militias as both a deterrent to foreign aggression and a symbol of grassroots defense.