President Nicolás Maduro urges Venezuelan citizens to enlist in the national militias

Due to the possible arrival of US military ships in the Caribbean, on Friday, state television urged men and women to enlist in public squares and military bases. One presenter declared: "When your country calls you, it's as if it were your mother calling you." “ According to a Reuters report this week, the United States plans to deploy three Aegis-equipped destroyers, 4,000 marines and sailors, spy planes and other military vessels, and at least one attack submarine to Venezuelan waters. Washington maintains the deployments are aimed at neutralizing drug cartels. Maduro has stated that the militia has more than 4.5 million members, although outside estimates put the total number in Venezuela at between 100,000 and 400,000. As the country's oil-rich economy collapsed, the ranks have been thinned by desertion. The military has largely backed Maduro throughout his 12-year rule, including suppressing protests in 2014 and 2017 and blocking an uprising led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó in 2017. 2019, with US support. In return, Maduro has granted high-ranking officials control over ports, oil concessions, and mining projects, and has filled his cabinet with decorated military personnel.