Venezuela has launched a massive military mobilization and begun training civilians for combat, citing an escalating threat from the United States. President Nicolás Maduro and top officials have activated new defense zones and called on citizens to join in protecting the nation. The moves come as Washington has intensified military operations in the Caribbean, targeting drug trafficking networks.
However, experts say that Venezuela’s military is no match for the US, and the government’s rhetoric around defending the homeland may be more about rallying support among citizens rather than preparing for a real threat. The government has drawn militia recruits from loyal or government-aligned groups, but only a small fraction of the population is likely to mobilize in the event of a US intervention.
Critics argue that Venezuela’s military equipment was designed to manage internal instability or regional conflicts, not to fend off a full-scale attack from the US. “You can’t resist conventional US military power,” said Andrei Serbin Pont, president of the Latin American research group CRIES.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/world/americas/venezuela-military-us.html