Overview
- Speaking at the Venezuelan Naval Academy in La Guaira, Nicolás Maduro declared that 2025 consolidated the Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana’s “supreme loyalty.”
- He said the military is “more prepared than ever” to defend sovereignty and urged commanders to “do more” as part of a planned popular resistance.
- Maduro denounced the months-long U.S. aeronaval presence near Venezuelan waters as a “crime,” saying the country has been under threat for 27 weeks.
- State broadcaster VTV carried the ceremony, where Maduro repeated the call for “Lealtad” and received a rifle in recognition of his role as commander in chief.
- Washington describes its Caribbean deployment as counternarcotics, while tensions escalated after President Donald Trump announced a blockade on sanctioned tankers and authorities confiscated two oil-carrying vessels.