Maduro Says Mobilizing Millions of Militia After US 'Threats'
Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro on Aug. 18 said he would deploy 4.5 million militia members in response to U.S. "threats," after Washington raised the bounty for his arrest and launched anti-drug operations in the Caribbean.
"This week, I will activate a special plan with more than 4.5 million militiamen to ensure coverage of the entire national territory, militias that are prepared, activated and armed," Maduro announced on state television.
Official figures say the Venezuelan militia, founded by Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, contains about 5 million people, though the actual number is believed to be smaller.
Venezuela's total population is around 30 million.
Maduro lambasted "the renewal of extravagant, bizarre, and outlandish threats" from the United States.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month doubled its bounty to $50 million for the arrest of Maduro, who faces drug trafficking charges.
Washington, which does not recognize Maduro's past two election victories, accuses the Venezuelan of leading a cocaine trafficking gang called Cartel de los Soles. The Trump administration announced sanctions against the group and Maduro's administration last month.
The U.S. military has also reportedly deployed several vessels to the southern Caribbean, as part of Trump's crackdown on Latin American drug cartels.
"We are also deployed throughout the Caribbean...in our sea, our property, Venezuelan territory," Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said.
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