In brief
After US naval forces conducted operations in the South Caribbean, resulting in the deaths of 17 individuals linked to drug trafficking, Venezuela's defense minister has declared a state of urgency. The government is now activating civilian militias, comprised largely of older citizens, to prepare for a potential escalation. Edmundo González's recent election loss to Nicolás Maduro has intensified financial and political strife, further complicating the already strained Venezuela-US relations. As enthusiasm spurs the militia training, experts caution against viewing it as a direct preparation for confrontation.
When Edith Perales was younger, he enlisted in the National Bolivarian Militia, a civilian force created by the late President Hugo Chávez in 2009 to help defend Venezuela. We have to be a country capable of defending every last inch of our territory so no one comes to mess with us, Chávez said at the time.Sixteen years on, Perales, who is now 68, is joining thousands of other militia members getting ready for a potential US attack. The rag-tag force, mainly made up of senior citizens, has been called up following the deployment of US navy ships in the South Caribbean on what US officials said were counter-narcotics operations.The US force has destroyed at least three boats it said were carrying drugs from Venezuela to the US, killing at least 17 people on board. Venezuela's defence minister, Vladimir Padrino, said the attacks and the US naval deployment amounted to a non-declared war by the US against Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro swiftly called the militia into active duty.Perales has got his uniform and boots at hand, ready to defend his bastion – the Caracas neighbourhood where he lives. He lives in 23 de Enero, an area in the capital which has traditionally been a stronghold of Chavismo - the leftist ideology founded by the late President Chávez and adopted by his handpicked successor in office, Nicolás Maduro.While experts have told the BBC that the deployment of US naval forces in the South Caribbean is large, they have also pointed out that it is not large enough to suggest that it is part of a planned invasion. There is little doubt though that the relationship between Venezuela and the US - which has long been strained - has deteriorated further since Donald Trump returned to office.The US is among a raft of nations which have not recognised the re-election of Maduro in July 2024, pointing to evidence gathered by the Venezuelan opposition with the help of independent observers showing that his rival, Edmundo González, won the election by a landslide.But seemingly jittery in the face of what it perceives as a US threat, Maduro's government is now training up the militia. On a Saturday afternoon, soldiers fan out in Caracas' Petare neighbourhood to fulfil Maduro's order that the barracks come to the people. The soldiers' task is to teach the locals how to handle arms to respond to the enemy.Most of the volunteers taking part in the training exercise have no experience in armed fighting, but what they lack in experience they make up for in enthusiasm. If I have to lay down my life in battle, I'll do it, Francisco Ojeda, one of the locals taking part, tells BBC News Mundo.Maduro has claimed that more than 8.2 million civilians are enlisted in the militia and in the reserves, but this figure has been widely questioned. Perales, who has been in the militia for decades, sees his role as a defender of his street, the neighbourhood where he lives, what he knows. In a time of escalating US-Venezuela tensions, these community-driven militia efforts reflect the broader anxiety and reaction to foreign military presence in the region.
