Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is massing his armed forces on the coast and mobilizing the country’s militia in response to a major U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean Sea. President Trump has assembled forces to crack down on drug smuggling by international criminal gangs he has designated as terrorist organizations, and Maduro has chosen to rattle his saber in response.

“The people are ready for combat, ready for battle,” Maduro declared in a speech this week. The people of Venezuela were ready for regime change last summer when they elected opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez by an overwhelming majority — only for Maduro to have his henchmen declare himself the winner.

The U.S government officially rejects Maduro’s fraudulent election and offers a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture. This year, the Trump administration accused him of running a criminal drug cartel.

The U.S. military has deployed forces to the southern Caribbean to prevent drug cartels from smuggling illegal drugs from Venezuela to the U.S., and it has used lethal force against small boats suspected of carrying illicit cargo. Critics complain that these strikes are either extra-judicial executions or acts of war, while the Trump administration argues the traffickers are terrorists who pose an imminent threat.

On Thursday, the U.S. conducted the sixth known attack against a suspected drug vessel and the first to leave survivors. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two people from the craft and carried them to a U.S. Navy vessel, where they received medical attention. At least 27 people have been killed in the strikes so far.

The U.S. military buildup in the south Caribbean has been gradual but significant. So far, America has assembled “eight Navy warships, an attack submarine, F-35B jet fighters, P-8 Poseidon spy planes and MQ-9 Reaper drones,” as well as a special operations aviation regiment. Some aircraft have conducted training flights within 90 miles of Venezuela.

Earlier this week, The New York Times also revealed that President Trump has authorized “covert” CIA operations in Venezuela. When asked, the president responded that he planned to stop the drug smuggling by whatever means possible. “We’ve almost totally stopped it by sea. Now we’ll stop it by land,” he said.

This year, American operations on Venezuelan soil have not been confined to combatting drug traffickers. In May, the U.S. somehow rescued five Venezuelan dissidents who had been besieged in Argentina’s unoccupied embassy in Caracas. Anonymous sources told an Argentinian paper that the rescue involved a military operation.

These American operations have certainly attracted Maduro’s notice, as he now repositions his forces to repel any potential American invasion.

However, experts suggest that Venezuela is ill-prepared for a military conflict with any foreign power, least of all the United States. Maduro has purged experienced officers from the military, replacing them with loyalists, as his hold on power depends on military support. Troop morale is low because ordinary soldiers are poorly fed even in garrison, and there is little logistical support to resupply units that are deployed. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s economy is expected to contract 3% in 2026, with inflation of nearly 700%. Venezuela’s army is in such a state of shambles that the regime relies on armed Colombian groups to deter street protests.

Nevertheless, Venezuelan state media present a fearless military preparing to repel American aggression. “Footage has shown militia members — men and women; often elderly, slightly plump Venezuelans — running obstacle courses, crawling under barbed wire and firing rifles,” The Wall Street Journal describes. “The Venezuelan armed forces, which military experts say on paper number 125,000 soldiers, are shown marching in formation, with troops mounting armored vehicles and moving boxes of munitions around. The country’s Russian-made jet fighters are featured in footage shooting across the skies.”

Yet the television propaganda does nothing to erase the sorry state of the Venezuelan army, declared one former officer. “Since Maduro came to power, the military has been trained to repress protests inside the country, rather than defend Venezuela in a conventional conflict,” he said.

On Friday, Trump said that Maduro had offered to grant the U.S. access to Venezuelan oil and other natural resources “because he doesn’t want to [expletive] around with the United States.”