Venezuela, Colombia Expand Troops Amid US Caribbean Naval Build-Up

Amid escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela in 2025, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has called for a nationwide mobilization of militias in response to increased US pressure, including the raising of a bounty on his head and deployment of US forces in the Caribbean. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) youth wing has engaged in “Basic Revolutionary Resistance Training” and a 10-kilometer night march led by Diosdado Cabello to prepare for potential US aggression. Venezuelans have responded en masse to calls for enlistment in the Bolivarian Militia, with thousands volunteering across the country to defend national sovereignty against perceived foreign threats. Concurrently, Colombia has expanded its military presence in the border region of Catatumbo, deploying tens of thousands of troops to combat armed groups and drug trafficking, and has called on Venezuela to do the same. Both nations face complex security challenges along their shared border, with ongoing violence and displacement exacerbated by US anti-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, which Venezuela has condemned as hostile. This regional militarization underscores the heightened geopolitical stakes and deepening conflict dynamics in northern South America.