Venezuela is training thousands of members of its National Bolivarian Militia as tensions rise with the United States over stepped-up U.S. naval activity in the southern Caribbean, framed by Washington as counter-narcotics operations.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino denounced the U.S. deployments and recent lethal interdictions at sea—U.S. officials say at least three drug-running boats from Venezuela were destroyed, with 17 people killed—as a “non-declared war.” President Nicolás Maduro has ordered the armed forces (FANB) to “bring the barracks to the people,” expanding weapons-handling drills in Caracas neighborhoods long loyal to the late Hugo Chávez’s “Chavismo.”
Formed in 2009 to augment national defense, the largely volunteer militia now skews older and has often served as a political mobilization force. In weekend exercises in districts such as 23 de Enero and Petare, retirees and homemakers practiced with unloaded Russian-made rifles and followed basic tactics briefings alongside posters and parked armor. Some participants voiced readiness to “defend the fatherland,” while others admitted nerves and inexperience.
Outside government strongholds, daily life appeared largely unaffected, with markets and shops operating near the training sites. Analysts say the militia’s renewed prominence is less about battlefield utility and more about deterrence: by putting civilians in the security picture, Caracas raises the potential human cost of any foreign action. Political scientist Benigno Alarcón described the strategy as cultivating a “human shield” rather than a fighting force.
Relations between Washington and Caracas have worsened since Donald Trump returned to the White House. The U.S. and other countries refused to recognize Maduro’s 2024 re-election, citing opposition-backed evidence of a landslide for challenger Edmundo González. The administration has branded the Tren de Aragua gang a terrorist group, tightened deportations of Venezuelans, and doubled a reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture to $50 million—charges the Venezuelan leader rejects as politically driven.
Maduro has simultaneously cooperated with some U.S. deportations while seeking talks—rebuffed by the White House—maintaining a combative domestic posture and claiming more than 8.2 million civilians are enrolled in militias and reserves, a figure widely questioned. For veterans like 68-year-old Edith Perales, merely wearing the uniform signals readiness: “We must defend the territory.”
