Hundreds of mostly government supporters and public workers registered Friday to join the country’s civilian militia after President Nicolás Maduro called on citizens to prepare to support the armed forces against what he describes as internal and external threats.

Seventy-five-year-old Susana González, a tourism ministry employee, said every enemy “must be taken seriously” and that Venezuelans must be ready for any possibility.

It's the second military enlistment call by the government amid tensions with the U.S. over the deployment of warships in the Caribbean. No enrollment figures have been released.

The effort comes as tensions escalate between Maduro’s government and the United States. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of drug trafficking, doubled a reward for his arrest to $50 million and ordered three U.S. Navy warships toward the Caribbean as part of an anti-narcotics mission.

The United States has deployed three war vessels off Venezuela's territorial waters, as U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed to use the military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the U.S.

More war vessels are expected next week, an action that will undoubtedly fuel more speculation among Venezuelans, their government, and its political opposition.

Following confirmation last week of three U.S. Aegis guided-missile destroyers being deployed, that military presence is now likely to expand.

Militias were created by the late President Hugo Chávez to incorporate volunteers into defense duties. Officials say more than 4.5 million Venezuelans are enlisted alongside some 200,000 regular troops.

AP video by Juan Arraez