Venezuela has expanded its armed forces by 5,600 new troops as the United States increases military pressure around the country. The ceremony at Fuerte Tiuna followed President Nicolas Maduro’s call for stronger enlistment, amid Washington’s accusations, presented without evidence, that he leads the Cartel de los Soles, which the US recently labeled a terrorist organization. Maduro maintains that the real goal behind these allegations is regime change and control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, a claim echoed by military officials such as Colonel Gabriel Alejandro Rendon Vilchez, who vowed to prevent any foreign invasion. Current figures show Venezuela has about 200,000 troops and another 200,000 police personnel.

Meanwhile, protests across the United States have highlighted domestic resistance to military escalation, with 70 percent of Americans opposing a potential invasion. Even so, the Trump administration continues to signal that an attack is imminent. Maduro also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed concern about rising threats against Venezuela and the large US military buildup in the Caribbean. Erdogan stressed the need to keep dialogue open, while Maduro denounced the maneuvers near Venezuela as illegal and disproportionate, a move he views as intended to destabilize the region rather than promote security.

Since August, the US Southern Command has deployed a broad array of forces to the Caribbean and near Venezuela’s coast, warships, submarines, aircraft carriers, F-35 squadrons and 15,000 personnel, all under the stated aim of countering drug trafficking. This includes the arrival of Carrier Strike Group Twelve and the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier. US forces in the area have already carried out lethal strikes on more than twenty alleged drug-trafficking vessels, killing at least 87 people. Officials in Caracas argue that these actions are less about narcotics and more about projecting dominance, intimidating neighboring countries, and weakening Venezuela’s sovereignty at a sensitive geopolitical moment.