The dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, ordered on Tuesday (11) the creation of comprehensive defense commands – which will bring together citizens, military personnel and public servants – to be “prepared” in the event of an “armed struggle”, in a context marked by the growing threat that, according to the Chavista, is represented by the United States military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, close to the country.
The dictator issued the order by signing the “Command Law for the Integral Defense of the Nation”, approved on Tuesday by the National Assembly (AN, Parliament), controlled by Chavismo, which establishes the objectives, characteristics and functions of these bodies.
“The order must be activated so that comprehensive defense commands are established, structured and begin to function to be prepared, if we, as a republic, as a people, have to engage in armed struggle to defend this sacred heritage of the liberators, to be ready to win, to triumph, through patriotism and courage,” declared Maduro.
In an event at the Miraflores Palace — headquarters of the Executive Branch in Caracas — broadcast by the state broadcaster Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), the leader of Chavismo stated that, in these last “fourteen weeks of criminal imperial madness” and “permanent psychological warfare”, the South American country “took measures” in the military and institutional spheres.
Faced with these threats, according to Maduro, the capacity of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) was reinforced for “any scenario”, and “the entire country was prepared, in perfect popular-military-police fusion”, with the objective, he stated, of “being ready, willing and prepared” to “move from the unarmed struggle to the liberating and victorious armed struggle”.
In this process, he highlighted that “more than eight” million Venezuelans enlisted in the Militia, and that there were trainings for citizens on “military techniques” and FANB operations “state by state”.
The new law, as read during the discussion process, indicates that an integrated defense command is a unit linked to the Armed Forces Strategic Operational Command (Ceofanb), whose mission is to “integrate, plan, coordinate, direct, supervise and exercise control” of the so-called Integrated Defense Directorate Bodies (ODDI).
Its activities include “supporting military operations”, as well as “ensuring the continuity of productive activities and the functioning of essential public services and critical infrastructure, once mobilization is decreed”.
The Venezuelan regime announced on Tuesday a new military deployment that includes “land, air, naval and river resources”, as well as weapons systems and other resources to face what it considers “imperialist threats”.
The United States has maintained a military presence in the Caribbean since August, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking, but Caracas insists it is a “threat” designed to bring about “regime change.”
According to the US Navy, the Pentagon’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its strike group — made up of more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft — arrived in Latin America this Tuesday.
