Venezuela has placed its armed forces on high alert amid rising tensions with the United States, announcing what Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López described as a “massive deployment of ground, aerial, naval, riverine and missile forces.”

The order, issued Tuesday, includes the participation of police, militias, and citizens’ defense units as part of nationwide military exercises involving nearly 200,000 personnel.

The move comes in direct response to the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group—led by the world’s largest aircraft carrier—in Caribbean waters, a deployment that Caracas views as a prelude to a possible U.S. invasion aimed at removing President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Newsweek has contacted the State Department and Venezuela's Foreign Minis

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