CARACAS: Venezuela organised military training for civilians on Saturday in response to US naval deployments near its coast and new threats from President Donald Trump.
The training occurred nearly a month after Washington positioned warships in international waters off Venezuela alongside F-35 fighters in Puerto Rico for anti-drug and anti-terrorism operations.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused Washington of waging an undeclared war following US strikes that killed alleged drug traffickers off Venezuela’s coast.
Caracas also claims the United States seeks regime change and aims to steal Venezuelan oil and other natural resources.
In Caracas’ crowded Petare neighbourhood, authorities closed the main avenue for mini-courses on weapons handling and revolutionary resistance tactics.
“I’m here to learn what I need to learn to defend what is really important to me: my country, my homeland, my nation, Venezuela,“ said office worker Luzbi Monterola, aged 38.
The 38-year-old added: “I am afraid of nothing and no one.”
President Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington accuses of running a drug cartel, has long mobilised civilians during the escalating standoff.
Petare neighbourhood previously hosted protests against Maduro’s July 2024 reelection, which opponents and many nations considered fraudulent.
Maduro recently ordered armed forces into neighbourhoods after summoning thousands of volunteers to military barracks for training last week.
The show of force remained subdued with approximately 25 armoured vehicles parading through the capital and fewer trainees than expected.
Maduro met rural workers in Aragua region on Saturday, calling on millions to prepare to take up arms and defend Venezuela if attacked by the American empire.
Soldiers in Petare taught volunteers in groups of thirty how to handle weapons while covering mask-wearing, basic first aid, and ideological thought.
Training sessions also occurred in San Cristobal and Barinas outside Caracas, though turnout remained low according to AFP correspondents.
“All of this is about oil, gold, diamonds — our resources,“ stated 16-year-old John Noriega, who attended the Petare event with his parents.
The teenager added: “We will fight for what belongs to us.”
State television footage showed fishing boats cruising alongside naval vessels along Venezuela’s coasts.
“Today is a milestone we are marking in the military revolution that we are all writing, the people and the Armed Forces together,“ said Defense Minister Lopez.
Venezuela launched three days of military exercises on its Caribbean island of La Orchila responding to a perceived threat from a US flotilla of seven ships and a nuclear-powered submarine.
Trump warned Venezuela would face incalculable consequences if refusing to take back migrants he claims were forced into the United States.
Repatriation of undocumented Venezuelans represents one of the few areas where talks continue between both nations according to a diplomatic source.
A US plane returned 185 Venezuelans to Caracas on Friday, bringing total repatriations to over 13,000 since Trump resumed office in January.
Maduro’s YouTube channel, which carries most speeches, vanished from the platform on Saturday without immediate comment from Caracas officials. – AFP