Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced late Monday that he will mobilize 4.5 million members of the Bolivarian Militia nationwide, declaring the force "prepared, activated and armed" to confront what he described as fresh threats from the United States. The move comes after Washington doubled, to US$50 million, the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest on drug-trafficking charges and dispatched naval and air assets to the southern Caribbean for an expanded anti-narcotics mission. Caracas has denounced the U.S. maneuvers as an act of aggression. Maduro said the deployment forms part of a “special plan” to ensure militia coverage throughout Venezuela. Official statistics place the militia’s nominal strength at about five million civilians and reservists under army command, though independent estimates suggest the active number is lower. Created by the late Hugo Chávez, the militia functions alongside Venezuela’s conventional armed forces but is viewed by critics as a politicized paramilitary arm of the ruling Socialist Party. Analysts caution that activating even a fraction of the claimed force could strain the nation’s economy and heighten regional tensions as U.S. warships equipped with Aegis missile systems patrol nearby waters. U.S. prosecutors accuse Maduro and senior officials of heading the so-called Cartel de los Soles, allegations the Venezuelan government rejects as fabricated. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials on Maduro’s latest order.