Venezuela To Carry Out Military Drills to Guarantee Its Sovereignty

President Nicolas Maduro outlines the Bolivarian Shield 2025 drills. X/ @UNoticias

January 20, 2025 Hour: 11:29 am

President Maduro stressed that Venezuela has the power to live in peace, democracy, and freedom.

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that his country’s armed and police forces will conduct their first military exercises of the year on January 22 and 23.

“We are going to defend borders, coasts, cities, and vital elements of the country, all in union to guarantee peace, national sovereignty, and true democracy. Venezuela has the power to live in peace, in exercise of its full sovereignty, democracy, and freedom,” the Bolivarian leader stressed.

Last week, Maduro ordered the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and police forces “to prepare and oil their rifles” in the face of new criminal threats from former Colombian presidents Ivan Duque and Alvaro Uribe, who recently advocated for an international military intervention against Venezuela.

The Venezuelan leader called on the FANB, the intelligence and counterintelligence police forces, and the popular militias not to lower their guard against the transnational far right. He also asked the military to continue with the Rapid Reaction Units (URRAS), special operations, and surveillance at all border crossings with Colombia and Brazil.

#LogrosYVictoriaPorLaPaz
El Mazo dice:

Escudo Bolivariano 2025 optimizará la interoperabilidad entre FANB, el Pueblo y Organismo de Seguridad #20Ene via #ConElMazoDando https://t.co/Ne2j3jywTr
— Amelyren 🇻🇪 (@Amelyren) January 20, 2025

The text reads, “Bolivarian Shield 2025 will optimize interoperability between FANB, the people and security agencies.”

On Monday, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces confirmed that it will carry out the “Bolivarian Shield 2025” exercise on January 22 and 23.

“It fills us with unfathomable pride that the entire nation has begun a new year marked by the triumph of democracy and institutionality, evidenced and consolidated on January 10, with the swearing-in and inauguration of Nicolas Maduro as Constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, our Commander in Chief, for the period 2025-2031. However, internal and external enemies, in their frustration, do not stop generating threats and aggressions to cause anxiety and instability, but they will never succeed,” the FANB stated.

“This new popular military-police exercise will be executed with a superlative level in the strategic, operational and tactical aspects, optimizing in its different phases, the interoperability between organized people, military units and citizen security bodies, deploying with greater synchronization multiple weapon systems and mixed URRAS.”

“In this way, operations will be put into practice that guarantee the military defense and internal order of the country, ensuring the operation of basic services and the security of strategic installations, while making our cities and borders impregnable throughout the national geographic space,” it added.