Venezuela launched new military drills on Wednesday as tensions with Washington remain high following the recent deployment of U.S. military assets to the Caribbean and American strikes on Venezuelan ships that Washington claimed were engaged in drug trafficking.
The exercises, taking place off the island of La Orchila, involve the Bolivarian Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Naval Militia. The drills were announced in direct response to the U.S. operations and will run for three days.
According to the Venezuelan military, the maneuvers involve 12 ships, 22 aircraft, 20 small boats, and heavy equipment including tanks, armored personnel carriers, and Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs). More than 2,500 troops from the Marines, Navy, and Bolivarian militia are participating.
Codenamed Maniobra de Campaña Caribe Soberano 200 (“Sovereign Caribbean Campaign Maneuver 200”), the exercises are centered at La Orchila, a key Venezuelan naval base located roughly 160 kilometers from Caracas. The island also hosts a presidential residence used by President Nicolás Maduro.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said Venezuela was responding to the “threatening and vulgar voice” of the United States, adding, “The people have given a response of patriotic sentiment by enlisting in the Bolivarian Militia.”
Maduro echoed that sentiment, declaring, “Venezuela has the power to live in peace, in the exercise of its full sovereignty and democracy.”
The escalation follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s order late last month to deploy at least eight naval ships, 10 stealth fighters, and more than 4,500 Marines to the region under the banner of a counter-narcotics operation. Since then, the U.S. military has killed at least 11 Venezuelans in international waters during strikes on two boats. Washington has claimed the vessels were engaged in drug trafficking, though it has not provided evidence.
While Trump has insisted he does not seek regime change in Caracas, many observers — including Maduro himself — believe Washington’s accusations of drug cartel involvement are a pretext for military intervention aimed at removing him from power, a policy Trump attempted during his first term.