Venezuelan President deploying millions of militia members in response to $50M U.S. bounty
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'This week, I will activate a special plan with more than 4.5 million militiamen to ensure coverage of the entire national territory — militias that are prepared, activated and armed,' Maduro announced on state television.
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Official figures say the Venezuelan militia, founded by Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, contains about 5 million people — though the actual number is believed to be smaller.
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Venezuela's total population is around 30 million.
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Maduro lambasted 'the renewal of extravagant, bizarre, and outlandish threats' from the United States.
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The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month doubled its bounty to $50 million for the arrest of Maduro, who faces drug trafficking charges.
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Washington, which does not recognize Maduro's past two election victories, accuses the Venezuelan of leading a cocaine trafficking gang called Cartel de los Soles. The Trump administration announced sanctions against the group and Maduro's administration last month.
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The US military has also reportedly deployed several vessels to the southern Caribbean, as part of Trump's crackdown on Latin American drug cartels.
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'We are also deployed throughout the Caribbean…in our sea, our property, Venezuelan territory,' Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said.
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Although he did not mention the recent US actions specifically, Maduro thanked those who expressed their support in the face of what he called 'rotten refrain' of threats.
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Maduro called on his government's political base to move forward with the formation of peasant and worker militias 'in all industries.'
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