Venezuela offers military training to public

CARACAS

Venezuela on Sept. 20 organized a day of military training for civilians in response to the U.S. deployment in the Caribbean, and amid new threats from President Donald Trump.

Nearly a month ago, Washington deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela's coast, backed by F-35 fighters sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug and anti-terrorism operation.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez has accused Washington of waging "undeclared war" in the Caribbean, after U.S. strikes killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers off his country's coast.

In the crammed Petare neighborhood of Caracas, the main avenue was shut down for a day of mini-courses about weapons handling and other "revolutionary resistance" tactics.

"I'm here to learn what I need to learn to defend what is really important to me: My country, my homeland, my nation, Venezuela," said Luzbi Monterola, a 38-year-old office worker.

"I am afraid of nothing and no one."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who stands accused by Washington of running a drug cartel, has long sought to mobilize civilians in the escalating standoff.

The Petare neighborhood was once the launching point for protests against Maduro's reelection in July 2024, deemed fraudulent by the opposition and much of the international community.

After thousands of volunteers were summoned to military barracks last week for training, Maduro ordered the armed forces to go into the neighborhoods themselves.