Venezuela Readying Sabotage, Street Disorder Operations if U.S. Strikes Its Territory: Report

Venezuela is preparing guerrilla-style warfare and street disorder as contingency measures in the event of a U.S. attack, according to planning documents and sources cited by Reuters.

The plans include dispersed sabotage operations and an effort to make Caracas ungovernable, reflecting what one source described as an acknowledgment that "we wouldn't last two hours in a conventional war."

The outlet added that the strategy consists of two tracks. The first, described by officials on state television as "prolonged resistance," would use small military units positioned at more than 280 locations to carry out sabotage and similar tactics. The second, known internally as "anarchization," would involve intelligence services and armed government supporters creating disorder on the streets of Caracas to hinder foreign forces, according to sources familiar with the strategy.

Reuters goes on to cite multiple sources saying the Venezuelan armed forces are hampered by poor training, deteriorating equipment, and low pay. Rank-and-file soldiers earn about $100 per month, well below the estimated cost of basic food. Some commanders have even reportedly negotiated with local food producers to feed their troops.

One source told the outlet that Venezuela is "not prepared or professionalized for a conflict" and "not ready to face one of the world's most powerful and well-trained armies."

The country has deployed roughly 5,000 Russian-made Igla missiles, and authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro said they are positioned "to the last mountain, the last town, and the last city." Much of the remaining equipment, however, is decades old. A source familiar with defense capabilities said Venezuela's Sukhoi fighter jets are "nothing" compared with U.S. bombers, while helicopters, tanks, and shoulder-fired missiles are also aging.

The plans emerge amid rising tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prospect of operations inside Venezuela, saying "the land is going to be next" following U.S. strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, though he later denied planning such actions. Maduro has repeatedly said Washington seeks to remove him from power and has praised "soldiers of the homeland" as defenders of national sovereignty.

Former Venezuelan officers recently told the Miami Herald that any U.S.-Venezuela conflict would be brief, citing degraded readiness and equipment across the armed forces. One former official said that "any attempt to resist an American attack would be suicide." They estimated army operational capacity at roughly one-third, with limited naval and air capabilities and significant maintenance and communications shortfalls.