Venezuela Confirms 48-Hour Nationwide Military Deployment Citing 'Imperial Threats'

Venezuela announced a fresh, nationwide military deployment on Tuesday in response to what the government called "imperial threats," with forces mobilized across land, air, sea, riverine and missile units as part of an expanded phase of "Plan Independencia 200."

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said the operation began at 4 AM local time on Tuesday and would run through Wednesday. In an official statement, the Ministry of Defense said the mobilization includes "systems of arms; Military Units; Bolivarian Militia; Citizen Security Organs and Commands for Integral Defense."

The communiqué added that "the Bolivarian National Armed Forces are stronger than ever in their unity, moral cohesion, and equipment," and called for a "popular–military–police union" to confront the perceived threat.

The announcement comes amid an expanded U.S. naval and air presence in the Caribbean and follows U.S. strikes on vessels the administration says are linked to drug trafficking. Caracas has characterized the deployments and strikes as part of an effort to provoke regime change and to seize Venezuela's natural resources.

Reporting by Reuters on Tuesday places the mobilization in a broader contingency posture as planning documents and sources indicate Venezuelan authorities have been preparing for asymmetric responses, including a guerrilla-style "prolonged resistance" involving small units and sabotage at more than 280 locations, and a parallel plan of "anarchization" aimed at sowing disorder in Caracas.

Reuters quoted a source close to the government saying that "we wouldn't last two hours in a conventional war," and another source saying the country was "not prepared or professionalized for a conflict." Reuters also reported that much of Venezuela's equipment is decades old and that portable surface-to-air missiles have been deployed.

The Defense Ministry's statement framed the maneuvers as defensive and patriotic, invoking historical symbols and pledging to "preserve at all costs" Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity.