Venezuela mobilized close to 200,000 troops on Tuesday just as the largest aircraft carrier in the United States Navy arrived in the Caribbean Sea. This marks a significant increase in military tensions between the two countries. The American deployment is the largest U.S. military presence seen in the region in many years, with about 15,500 American service members now positioned in or near Latin America.
The move has put both nations on high alert and has raised concerns about the possibility of a direct confrontation. The Venezuelan government has framed its actions as a defensive measure against what it perceives as a direct threat from the United States.
Venezuelan Military on “Full Operational Readiness”
Vladimir Padrino López, Venezuela’s Defense Minister, announced that the country was moving to a “higher phase” of its national defense plan. He stated that the nation’s entire military arsenal has been placed on “full operational readiness.” This large-scale mobilization involves all branches of the military, including land, air, and naval forces, as well as a civilian reserve group known as the Bolivarian Militia.
“Almost 200,000 troops have been deployed throughout the country for this exercise,” Padrino López said during a state television broadcast. He described the deployment as a necessary response to what he termed an “imperialist threat.” The order for the mobilization came directly from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who believes the growing U.S. military presence is part of a plan to force a change in his government.
US Deploys Massive Naval Force to the Region
On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy officially confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group had moved into the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility, which includes most of Latin America and the Caribbean. The USS Gerald R. Ford, which entered service in 2017, is the world’s largest and most technologically advanced aircraft carrier. It carries a crew of over 5,000 sailors and is equipped with nine air squadrons.
The carrier is not alone. Its strike group includes three guided-missile destroyers. This new force joins eight other warships, a nuclear submarine, and advanced F-35 fighter jets that were already deployed in the region. A Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, stated that the deployment is intended to “enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking.”
Since early September, the U.S. military has carried out at least 19 strikes against suspected drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 76 deaths. The Trump administration has informed Congress that the United States is involved in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, although it has not publicly released evidence confirming that the targeted vessels were carrying drugs.
A Sharp Rise in Tensions Between the Nations
This military buildup comes after President Donald Trump authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela in October. In a recent interview, when asked if President Maduro’s “days were numbered,” Trump replied, “I would say yeah.” The U.S. Justice Department has also offered a $50 million reward for any information that leads to the arrest of Maduro on charges related to drug trafficking, which Maduro has repeatedly denied.
Venezuela’s official military has about 123,000 active members. However, many experts have raised questions about how prepared its forces would be for a potential conflict with the United States. According to reports, Venezuela is preparing to use guerrilla-style resistance tactics from more than 280 different locations in the case of a U.S. attack. The situation remains tense as both sides continue their military posturing in the region.
