Venezuela launches coastal defense drills amid US military build-up

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 09:40

Venezuela begins major coastal defense drills as the US deploys an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean.

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Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino tests an Igla-S man-portable surface-to-air missile, on October 24, 2025, in Venezuela. (Venezuelan MoD)

Venezuela has begun large-scale coastal defense exercises in response to potential “covert operations” by the United States, as Washington expands its military footprint in the region, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced on Saturday.

Venezuela prepares its forces for the worst

On Friday, Venezuelan state media broadcast footage of armed forces deployed across nine coastal states as part of the nationwide drills. Images also showed a member of the Bolivarian Militia of Venezuela with a Russian-made Igla-S shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile, underscoring the country’s readiness for a possible confrontation.

“We are conducting an exercise that began 72 hours ago, a coastal defense exercise... to protect ourselves not only from large-scale military threats but also from drug trafficking, terrorist threats and covert operations that aim to destabilize the country internally,” Padrino said in televised remarks.

“CIA is present not only in Venezuela but everywhere in the world,” Padrino said.

“They may deploy countless CIA-affiliated units in covert operations from any part of the nation, but any attempt will fail,” he added.

US deploys most lethal aircraft carrier to Caribbean

The move comes just a day after the Pentagon ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean, marking a sharp escalation in an ongoing US campaign of air and naval strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats that have already killed at least 43 people. The USS Gerald R. Ford, flagship of Carrier Strike Group 12 and the US Navy’s most advanced and powerful aircraft carrier, has been deployed to the Caribbean under what the Pentagon claims is an operation to combat drug trafficking.

While Washington officially frames the deployment as an anti-narcotics operation, analysts note that the scale and firepower of the forces, including an aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, a nuclear-powered submarine, stealth aircraft, and thousands of Marines, far exceed what is needed for standard drug interdiction. The concentration of these assets near Venezuelan waters, combined with repeated US accusations against President Nicolas Maduro and statements about covert operations, signals that the build-up also serves as a show of force, preparing for potential military aggression or exerting pressure for regime change.

Since September 2, US forces have bombed 10 boats Washington alleges were involved in narcotics trafficking, eight of them in the Caribbean. Trump continues to accuse Maduro of leading a “drug cartel,” an allegation Maduro has repeatedly rejected as part of Washington’s long-standing campaign to topple his government.