Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced the deployment of 4.5 million militia members across the country in response to recent actions by the United States. This move follows Washington's decision to increase the bounty for Maduro's capture to $50 million and the deployment of three U.S. Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the southern Caribbean. Maduro described the U.S. actions as "threats" and "outlandish" and framed the militia mobilization as part of a national security plan aimed at defending Venezuela's territory, peace, and sovereignty. The president also called for a nationwide enlistment of the Bolivarian Militia and the activation of over 5,300 "Cuadrantes de Paz" (Peace Quadrants) in the country's 5,336 communal circuits. Maduro emphasized that the militia members are "prepared, activated, and armed," with the distribution of missiles and rifles to the working class. The mobilization is linked to the Gran Plan Nacional de Soberanía y de Paz Simón Bolívar (Great National Plan of Sovereignty and Peace Simón Bolívar). Additionally, Maduro has banned drones from flying over Venezuela amid these tensions. The U.S. administration justifies its military presence in the Caribbean as part of anti-drug operations. Maduro's response also includes a weekend national enlistment drive for the militia to counter what he calls U.S. imperialism and aggression.