Venezuela swears in 5,600 troops amid rising tensions with US

The Venezuelan armed forces formally inducted 5,600 new soldiers into service on Saturday, a move coinciding with what Caracas describes as escalating military pressure from the United States.

The swearing-in ceremony, held at the capital’s largest military base, Fuerte Tiuna, follows President Nicolas Maduro’s call for increased recruitment, as reported by AFP. The call came after the US deployed a fleet of warships and the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking.

Colonel Gabriel Rendon, speaking at the ceremony, stated, “Under no circumstances will we allow an invasion by an imperialist force.”

Heightened tensions and allegations

Caracas views the US deployment as a pretext for an operation aimed at overthrowing Maduro and seizing the nation’s vast oil reserves. This assertion comes as US forces have reportedly carried out deadly strikes on more than 20 vessels, resulting in at least 87 fatalities.

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Washington has, in turn, escalated its own pressure, accusing President Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” which the US government designated a terrorist organisation last month.

Official figures suggest Venezuela’s military strength stands at around 200,000 active troops, supplemented by an additional 200,000 police officers.

In another development that shows just how tense the political climate has become, former opposition governor Alfredo Diaz died in prison on Saturday while he was facing terrorism and incitement charges.

Diaz, who served as governor of Nueva Esparta from 2017 to 2021, is at least the sixth opposition member to die in custody since November 2024. According to the rights group Foro Penal, which defends political prisoners, Diaz “had been imprisoned and held in isolation for a year,” with only one family visit permitted. The NGO claims there are currently at least 887 political prisoners in the country.

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These arrests followed mass protests sparked by the disputed election last July, where Maduro claimed a third presidential term amid accusations of fraud. The protests led to 28 deaths and approximately 2,400 arrests.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado condemned the deaths, stating they reveal a “sustained pattern of state repression.”

In a joint statement, Machado and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia argued that the circumstances of the deaths—including the denial of medical care, torture, and inhumane conditions—are evidence of this pattern of “post-electoral repression.”