Venezuelan Defense Minister López issued a government bulletin on the 11th, stating that the Venezuelan military held a new round of exercises that day to improve the army's command, control, and communication capabilities in response to external threats.
The bulletin said that this round of exercises would continue until the 12th, involving land, sea, and air combat units as well as the deployment of missile and other weapon systems. In addition, the Venezuelan military will also launch a nationwide comprehensive defense command system, carry out inter-agency and grassroots coordination, ensure effective national mobilization, and achieve multi-departmental joint support.
Intends to Counter Invasion with Guerrilla Warfare
On the other hand, sources told foreign news agencies that Venezuela is deploying weapons, including Russian-made arms from decades ago, and is preparing to use guerrilla tactics or create chaos to respond to possible U.S. airstrikes or ground operations.
Sources familiar with Venezuela's military capabilities said that the U.S. military far exceeds Venezuela in size. Venezuela's military strength has greatly declined due to a lack of training, low wages, and aging equipment.
The sources pointed out that due to insufficient resources provided by the government, some unit commanders have even been forced to negotiate with local food producers to resolve the troops' food supply issues.
The sources said that based on this, the Maduro government is betting on two potential strategies. One is a guerrilla strategy—publicly mentioned by senior Venezuelan officials but with no details revealed—and the other is 'anarchization,' where intelligence services and armed ruling party supporters would create chaos on the streets of the capital Caracas, making Venezuela ungovernable for foreign powers.
The sources admitted that regardless of the resistance strategy Venezuela adopts, the chances of success are very low: "If we fight a conventional war, we wouldn't last more than two hours."