Venezuela Deploys 200,000 Troops as U.S. Carrier Strike Group Arrives in Caribbean

Venezuela Deploys 200,000 Troops as U.S. Carrier Strike Group Arrives in Caribbean

Emmitt Barry

In a show of defiance against mounting U.S. military pressure, Venezuela has launched a massive two-day nationwide military mobilization following the U.S. Senate’s rejection of a resolution to block American operations against the Maduro regime. The move comes just as the Pentagon confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford—the largest U.S. aircraft carrier ever built—has arrived in waters near Latin America.

Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino López announced the large-scale mobilization during a nationally televised address on Tuesday, calling it a defensive response to what he described as “imperialist threats” from Washington.

“Almost 200,000 troops have been deployed throughout the national territory for this exercise,” Padrino López said during a press conference carried on state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). “This is not at the expense of the daily deployment carried out by the Strategic Operational Command. We are optimizing command, control, and communications in the face of aggression.”

The mobilization, part of President Nicolás Maduro’s expanded “Independence Plan 200,” integrates Venezuela’s armed forces, police, and other security agencies under a single national defense command. The exercise was highlighted across state media and social platforms as a demonstration of “resistance and sovereignty.”

In a development signaling possible cracks in the Western alliance, Britain reportedly suspended intelligence-sharing with the U.S. over concerns that the maritime strikes could violate international law. According to CNN, London halted the program over a month ago, shortly after the U.S. began bombing suspected trafficking vessels. Neither the Pentagon nor the British Embassy in Washington offered comment.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro also announced Tuesday that his government would suspend communications and cooperation with U.S. security agencies “as long as the boat strikes continue,” criticizing what he called “extrajudicial killings.” The move deepens an already strained relationship with Washington, which last month revoked Petro’s visa after he urged U.S. troops to “disobey Trump’s orders” during a protest outside the United Nations in New York.

The Trump administration has framed its campaign as part of a broader war on “narco-terrorists.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in a post on X, compared Latin American drug cartels to al-Qaeda, writing, “Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere. Just as al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness—only justice.”

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