Venezuela expands its military reserve to confront the US "threat"

Public employees, housewives, retirees—the line is long and varied in front of a Caracas plaza. Thousands of people enlisted in Venezuela 's military forces on Saturday to join the ranks in case of a possible U.S. invasion.

President Nicolás Maduro called for the Bolivarian Militia, a civilian-affiliated unit of the Armed Forces that critics say is highly ideologically charged, to open registration this weekend and beyond.

It's also a show of force in the face of what it considers a "threat" to its power. Three guided-missile destroyers will be positioned in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, although Washington claims these are operations against drug trafficking .

The Militia set up registration centers in plazas and military and public buildings, including the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

Also in the so-called Mountain Barracks , where the remains of the deceased socialist leader Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) rest.

It is located on 23 de Enero, a populous bastion of Chavismo where large social housing buildings mingle with dilapidated exposed brick houses.

"Have you served before?" a female soldier in camouflage uniform asks Óscar Matheus, who waited patiently in line until he reached the plastic registration table.

"I'm here to serve our country," the 66-year-old auditor told AFP. "We don't know what might happen, but we have to prepare and continue resisting."

"The country is calling us; the country needs us," says 51-year-old Rosy Paravabith.

"Long live the homeland!"

Christened Bolivarian by Chávez, the Venezuelan Armed Forces make no secret of their politicization. "Chávez lives!" is their official greeting today.

It's also unclear how many troops it has. In 2020, it had around 343,000 members, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a similar size to Mexico (341,000) and surpassed in Latin America only by Colombia (428,000) and Brazil (762,000).

Maduro said, however, this week that the Militia alone had more than 4.5 million soldiers.

"I'm enlisting for Venezuela, long live the homeland!" the volunteers shouted after registering. Police officers and even reservist militiamen showed up to reaffirm their commitment.

The Cuartel de la Montaña (Mountain Barracks) is located on a mountain overlooking all of Caracas . It's a former military museum where Chávez coordinated his failed coup attempt in 1992.

Once registered, the volunteers are taken to a room where a documentary is shown about the European blockade of the Venezuelan coast between 1902 and 1903, following then-President Cipriano Castro's refusal to pay the foreign debt.

The 2017 film shows armed peasants. Some are shooting, others are analyzing maps. Warships can be seen in the distance.

In the next room , some of the weapons are on display : a 50-caliber machine gun from the United States, a Swedish Carl Gustaf grenade launcher, a Soviet-made RPG rocket launcher, and a Belgian 7.62 mm machine gun.

An Army lieutenant explains in technical terms the range, the space where each one can be used, and what it's for.

"Can this be fired into the sky?" asks one of the attendees. "It's better to use it in a linear fashion," the soldier replies.

"Immoral, criminal and illegal"

The United States has already made deployments to the Caribbean in the past.

But this time it coincides with the increase to $50 million in the bounty on Maduro and the accusation against him of leading an alleged drug trafficking gang known as the Cartel of the Suns, which President Donald Trump has classified as a terrorist organization.

Maduro asserts that this "immoral, criminal, and illegal" mobilization only seeks "regime change."

On the streets of Venezuela , the topic is being raised with both jokes and concern , although experts currently see the possibility of a direct U.S. operation against Venezuela as a distant prospect.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López urged everyone not to "grow nervous." "We will defend this homeland until our last breath," he added in statements broadcast on the state-run VTV channel.

The opposition called for people not to enlist. Volunteers of all ages are in the ranks.

"I want to train to defend the homeland," says 19-year-old Jesús Bórquez.

"I know that because of my age, I'm not going to pick up a rifle, but I'm willing to help them," says Omaira Hernández, 78.