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Venezuela has deployed military units and began amassing weapons and equipment in response to the Trump administration’s mobilization of U.S. warships in the Caribbean.
The buildup, which the government has termed “prolonged resistance,” involves small military units at more than 280 locations carrying out acts of sabotage and other guerrilla tactics, according to sources and several-years-old planning documents for the tactic seen by Reuters.
“We don’t discuss intelligence matters,” a War Department official told Fox News.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the Trump administration of seeking to oust him from power. He has pledged that Venezuelan citizens will defend the South American nation from American aggression.
US NAVY DESTROYER ARRIVES IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AS TRUMP TURNS SCREWS ON VENEZUELA
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility as President Donald Trump ramps up his war on drugs. In response, Venezuela is mobilizing its military forces. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Alyssa Joy/Navy)
Meanwhile, the administration has ordered a series of deadly strikes targeting suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean in an effort to curb the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States. President Donald Trump has suggested the possibility of ground operations in Venezuela, saying “the land is going to be next.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy said the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group had entered the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility as part of an American presence to support the growing naval buildup in the region.
“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell. “These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations.”
US MILITARY BUILDUP IN CARIBBEAN SEES BOMBERS, MARINES AND WARSHIPS CONVERGE NEAR VENEZUELA
The Trump administration ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to head to U.S. Southern Command, prompting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to accuse Trump of “fabricating a new eternal war.” (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images; Getty Images)
Aside from the significant resource disparities between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries, some Venezuelan unit commanders have even been forced to negotiate with local food producers to feed their troops because government supplies fall short, Reuters reported.
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s Vice President Tareck El Aissami and Cilia Flores take part in a military exercise at Fuerte Tiuna military base in Caracas on Feb. 24, 2018. (Reuters)
Part of Venezuela’s defense strategy includes a guerrilla-style response, according to reports.
“We wouldn’t last two hours in a conventional war,” a source close to the government told the news outlet.
Russia’s foreign ministry said last week it was prepared to respond to Venezuela’s requests for assistance, while urging against an escalation in tensions.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.