Padrino Lopez highlights citizen participation as Venezuela expands Bolivarian militias amid tensions with the U.S.

On Sunday, Security Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez praised the “fervor of the people in the streets” during the second day of enlistment for the Bolivarian National Militia, held on Aug. 24 across Venezuelan territory.

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In Miranda state, he personally oversaw the process of citizens joining the Bolivarian militias, which make up the fifth essential component of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).

“The citizens’ will to enlist has shown the degree of consciousness the Venezuelan people have achieved. It also proves that the homeland is at the center of popular sentiment,” Padrino Lopez said.

“There is total fervor of the people in the streets. There we see the profound character of the Venezuelan people’s soul, which has placed itself on the front line for the integrity of the homeland,” he added, underscoring the role played by President Nicolas Maduro, the commander in chief of the FANB.

“He placed the homeland at the center of this historic moment. The homeland comes first and is above ideological and political differences, or any other divisions,” the Security minister stressed.

The second phase of this nationwide mobilization, which was launched on Saturday under the slogan “I Enlist,” is taking place at 15,751 centers set up in military barracks, public squares, and community defense bases across the country.

Previously, the Bolivarian government called for this mobilization in response to the deployment of U.S. naval and air forces in the Caribbean, an action the Trump administration justified as part of alleged anti-narcotics operations.

The Venezuelan people, however, have denounced that such a deployment threatens their sovereignty and seeks to seize the country’s vast oil resources.

The “I Enlist” initiative is part of the Simon Bolivar National Plan for Sovereignty and Peace, a comprehensive strategy designed to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities by mobilizing millions of people into trained militias ready to defend Venezuela.

The new U.S. threat has even been rejected by some right-wing opposition politicians, who stressed that no foreign nation should make decisions that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.

“Policies that produce repression, seek sanctions or foreign intervention do not provide lasting solutions for our people’s well-being,” said Jose Alberto Galindez, governor of Cojedes state.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: VTV – teleSUR

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