Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro announced on Thursday that his regime will deploy military officials to neighborhoods over the weekend to teach locals how to “handle weapons” in preparation for a supposed incoming United States “invasion” of Venezuela.
The Maduro regime has repeatedly insisted that the United States’ military deployment in Caribbean international waters, part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to combat drug cartels in the region, is a “threat” to Venezuela. Maduro claims that the drug-fighting operations are instead part of a plan to “invade” the South American country and oust him from power.
Maduro, who is actively wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple narco-terrorism charges, has threatened the United States with an armed struggle should America invade Venezuela. Some regime officials, such as Interior Minister and long-suspected drug lord Diosdado Cabello, claim that an eventual conflict between the U.S. and Venezuela would lead to “100 years of war.”
Maduro has announced throughout the summer a series of preparatory measures ahead of the purported “invasion” of Venezuela. On a state media broadcast airing Thursday, the dictator announced that members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) will instruct local communities in weapons handling as part of the ongoing “preparations.”
“Next Saturday, September 20, the barracks are going to the people, the military is going to the people, they are going to visit the 5,336 community circuits. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces is going to the people, it is going to the communities,” he said. “This means that the equation is perfect. The people and the Armed Forces, the Armed Forces and the people.”
“We are going to the barracks, and now the barracks, with their weapons, are going to the communities to deploy them, to review them, to teach all those who enlisted and all the neighbors how to handle the weapons system, because the constitution mandates that the defense of the homeland is a responsibility, a shared responsibility between the military forces and our people,” he continued.
According to Maduro, President Trump wants to conduct “regime change” in Venezuela to “steal” Venezuela’s oil and other natural resources — an accusation that the rogue socialist regime has levied against the United States for over 20 years.
“There is an imperial plan for regime change in Venezuela, to impose a puppet government of the United States and come and steal our oil, which is the largest international reserve in the world, and our gas, which is the fourth largest reserve in the world, and our gold,” the dictator claimed.
This week, the Maduro regime ordered the launch of “Operation Caribe 200,” a 72-hour-long series of military training exercises in Venezuelan Caribbean waters ahead of the supposed upcoming conflict with the United States. The military exercises also included drills at La Orchila, a Venezuelan island and the location of an eponymous military base. The Maduro regime published propaganda videos of the military exercises across social media.
President Trump revealed this week that U.S. military forces have so far struck down three Venezuelan drug-laden vessels, “but you saw two,” and called upon Maduro to stop sending members of the Tren de Aragua terrorist organization and drugs into the United States.
Footage of the first vessel struck was published by President Trump in early September. At the time, Trump detailed that the military operation resulted in the deaths of 11 suspected Tren de Aragua members.
This week, President Trump published footage of the second “kinetic strike” against “positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” The strike occurred “while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics” headed to the United States, killing three men on board the vessel.
The Maduro regime claims, without evidence, that the footage of the first struck vessel is “fake,” an unfounded accusation that Maduro repeated this week during an international press conference. According to Venezuelan Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez, the footage is “fake,” and he justified his wild accusation on a purported analysis he conducted of the video using Google’s Gemini AI assistant.
In August, Maduro ordered the deployment of “4.5 million” members of the Bolivarian militia, a military branch created by the ruling socialists and entirely loyal to the Maduro regime, as part of its preparations ahead of the purported U.S. “invasion” plans and to counter the “threat” of the U.S. drug-fighting efforts. Days later, Maduro ordered a nationwide militia enlistment campaign that the dictator claims was “successful” despite footage published by local and international sources showing evidence of extremely low turnout and, in some cases, barren enlistment centers.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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