Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has pledged to mobilise more than four million militia fighters in response to new United States “threats” after Washington raised a reward for his arrest and launched new antidrug operations in the Caribbean.

“This week, I will activate a special plan with more than 4.5 million militiamen to ensure coverage of the entire national territory – militias that are prepared, activated and armed,” Maduro said in a televised address on Monday.

Venezuela’s militia was created by former President Hugo Chavez and is officially said to have about five million members although analysts suggested the real figure is lower. The country’s total population is about 30 million.

Maduro denounced the “extravagant, bizarre and outlandish threats” from Washington. His com

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