Maduro rallies Venezuela militias before US warships arrive

Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News on Aug 22, 2025

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President Nicolás Maduro is calling on Venezuelans to enlist in national militias ahead of the potential arrival of U.S. warships in the Caribbean.

State TV on Friday urged men and women to sign up at army bases and public squares, with a presenter declaring that “when your country calls, it’s as if your mother was calling.”

“We call to arms all militia members, to tell the imperialists: enough of your threats, Venezuela rejects you!” Maduro said a day earlier.

The U.S. plans to send three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to waters off Venezuela, along with 4,000 sailors and Marines, spy planes, other warships and at least one attack submarine, Reuters reported this week. Washington says the deployments are meant to counter drug cartels.

Maduro has claimed the militia numbers more than 4.5 million, though outside estimates put Venezuela’s total forces at closer to 100,000 to 400,000. The ranks have been hollowed out by desertions as the oil-rich country’s economy collapsed.

Over Maduro’s 12 years in power, the military has largely stood by him, quashing protests in 2014 and 2017 and blocking a 2019 uprising led by U.S,-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó. In return, Maduro has given senior officers control of ports, oil concessions and mining projects, and stacked his Cabinet with decorated soldiers.