Venezuela Orders Massive Mobilization as US Largest Warship Arrives in Region
Venezuela is preparing for a possible US military attack after Washington sent its largest warship, USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, to Latin American waters.
Tensions have been on the rise between the two countries after US President Donald Trump declared “war on drugs,” ordering airstrikes on boats smuggling narcotics through Caribbean and Pacific waters, authorizing the CIA to operate in Venezuela, and increasing military buildup near the Caribbean.
Military Preparations in Venezuela
The Venezuelan Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López, declared on Tuesday a “massive mobilization” of troops, weapons and equipment in response to the “imperialist threat” posed by the US buildup in the region, reported CNN.
The preparations also include military exercises by land, air, naval and reserve forces, as well as the Bolivarian Militia – a civilian reserve force created by the late President Hugo Chavez – through Wednesday.
The Defense Minister said that the exercises, ordered by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, aim to “optimize command, control and communications” and ensure the defense of the country.
Guerrilla Tactics
The US military outnumbers Venezuela’s, which has about 123,000 members and lacks training and equipment. However, Reuters reported that Caracas is planning a “guerrilla-style resistance” to confront any potential US invasion. This involves deploying small military units to more than 280 locations, where they could carry out acts of sabotage and other guerrilla tactics.
Another strategy includes the Venezuelan intelligence services and armed ruling-party supporters sowing anarchy in the streets of Caracas to make the capital ungovernable for foreign forces.
US Carrier Arrives in Region
Venezuela’s move came after the US Navy announced on Tuesday the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to the area of operations of the US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), which covers most of Latin American waters.
The Strike Group includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier, 9 air squadrons, 2 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the integrated air and missile defense command ship USS Winston S. Churchill, and more than 4,000 sailors.
The US Navy said that the forces’ arrival follows an order by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for the Carrier Strike Group to support Trump’s directive to “dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland.”
In the light of this, Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said that the increased presence of US forces in the area will bolster US capacity to “detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities” that compromise the security of the US.
“These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations,” he added.
US Military Buildup
The US has been ramping up its military presence in the region in recent months, which has amounted to around 15,000 American personnel after the arrival of the Ford Strike Group.
According to CNN, the US naval assets in the area include the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, amounting to more than 4,500 Marines and sailors, three guided-missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided missile cruiser and P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
Moreover, the US has deployed assets to Puerto Rico, including 10 F-35 fighter jets, at least three MQ-9 reaper drones, and about 5,000 troops. It has also increased its troops in El Salvador, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, conducting several training missions and military exercises.
US-Venezuela Tensions
Since September 2025, the US has launched a series of airstrikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean to prevent the flow of narcotics to the US. Furthermore, Trump suggested that ground operations could follow, although he later dismissed the idea of attacks inside Venezuela.
However, Caracas said that the US was attempting to force regime change, with Maduro accusing the Trump administration of “fabricating a new war” and describing the deployment as “the greatest threat our continent has faced in the past 100 years.”
On Sunday, 58 out of 60 nations participating in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC-EU Summit) in Colombia signed a joint declaration opposing “the use or threat of use of force and any action not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” without directly mentioning the US. But Venezuela and Nicaragua did not sign the declaration, according to the Guardian.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signaled rejection of military solutions, without explicitly referring to the US. “We are a zone of peace. We don’t need war here. The problem in Venezuela is a political one, and it must be resolved through politics,” he said.
