Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is mobilizing troops and militias across the Caribbean coast, declaring his country “ready for combat” as tensions rise with the United States — which has deployed the largest military buildup in the region since the 1980s, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
According to the Journal, Maduro’s regime has activated both the Venezuelan armed forces and what he claims is a “millions-strong” civilian militia in what analysts say is a mix of propaganda and desperation.
State-run television, radio, and social media outlets have been saturated with images of Venezuelan men and women — some elderly and overweight — crawling under barbed wire, firing rifles, and pledging loyalty to the socialist government.
“The people are ready for combat, ready for battle,” Maduro told cheering supporters earlier this week, insisting that “Venezuela will bow to no one.”
The Journal reports that the buildup comes as the U.S. Navy has moved eight warships, an attack submarine, and advanced aircraft including F-35B fighters and P-8 Poseidon spy planes into the Caribbean. MQ-9 Reaper drones and B-52 bombers have also been observed near Venezuela’s northern coast.
The Pentagon has deployed elite special operations units — including the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the “Night Stalkers” — conducting exercises within 90 miles of Venezuelan territory, the paper noted.
American officials told the Journal the buildup is aimed at combating narcotics trafficking, not preparing for a full-scale invasion. Still, the U.S. has carried out at least five airstrikes on drug-running boats in the region, killing 27. The Trump administration has defended the strikes as necessary to stop terrorists involved in the narcotics trade.
Maduro, in turn, has escalated his rhetoric and surrounded himself with senior military officials. The Journal said he has ordered recruitment from indigenous communities to expand the militias and appeared at rallies flanked by uniformed generals.
“If you want peace,” he told the crowd, “get ready to earn peace.”
Maduro’s No. 2, Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López have been shown in state footage preparing defenses and visiting militia camps far from Caracas, according to the report.
“We are a country of peace,” Cabello declared, “but we are fierce beasts when we have to defend it.”
Despite the bluster, the Journal reports Venezuela’s military is “in shambles.” Experts and former officers say morale is low, training is inadequate, and logistics are broken. Soldiers are underfed, poorly supplied, and led mostly by political loyalists rather than professionals.
“They have been systematically worn down,” one exiled former colonel told the newspaper.
The country’s economy, meanwhile, is collapsing again. The International Monetary Fund projects a 3% contraction in 2026 and inflation soaring to 682%, according to the Journal.
While Maduro insists Venezuela can resist any U.S. pressure, many citizens told the Journal they hope Washington’s presence might hasten the end of his rule.
“I think it’s important for a change in government,” said Caracas resident Milagros Campos, “so that the economy can get better.”
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