THE youth wing of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) carried out “Basic Revolutionary Resistance Training” over the past week in the Venezuelan state La Guaira. On the evening of August 28, the youth participated in a 10-kilometre night march led by PSUV secretary-general Diosdado Cabello.

The training took place amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas. The situation flared up when the administration of US President Donald Trump reiterated accusations that the Venezuelan government plays a major role in drug trafficking, increasing the bounty on the head of President Nicolas Maduro, and at the same time deploying troops to the Caribbean to support the US “war on drugs.”

“The socialist youth, with its morale and rebelliousness, is ready for the defence of the Homeland and the construction of the future,” said Cabello who is Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace of the Bolivarian Republic.

The Chavista leader expressed that these trainings seek to build a combative youth in view of recent events that increased pressures on the South American country: “Chavez dreamed it and we are making it a reality, a combatant corps of the youth of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.”

The activities are taking place after Venezuelan President Maduro called on all branches of the armed forces, including the militia, and the PSUV to be on high alert and prepared for a potential US attack.

Meanwhile, the military enlistment days organised by Chavismo continue to advance throughout Venezuela. According to Venezuelan authorities, “thousands of people have responded to the government’s call to join the ranks of the national defence.”

Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez said in this regard: ‘’The workers are highly conscious of what it means to defend our homeland; today we heed the call of President Nicolas Maduro to defend our nation... We are ready to defend the social happiness of our people, to defend the future, to defend Venezuela’s right to exploit and develop its productive capacities.”

On August 14, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the deployment of several military vessels in the southern Caribbean Sea after declaring that Maduro is the alleged leader of the so-called Cartel de los Soles/Cartel of the Suns.

This organisation has already been designated as a terrorist organisation by Washington, which many analysts have seen as a tactic to attack Venezuela and thus overthrow the Chavista government.

In addition, US allies in South America, Ecuador, Paraguay and Argentina, have also declared the Cartel de los Soles as an international terrorist organisation, which can be interpreted as a form of alignment behind Washington’s geopolitical pretensions.

However, other countries in the region such as Colombia and Mexico, led by progressive presidents Gustavo Petro and Claudia Sheinbaum respectively, have said that they will not support a military intervention on Latin American soil as they consider that it goes against the principle of non-intervention that characterises the foreign policy of several countries in the region.

Washington continues to reinforce its military positions in the Caribbean, specifically in Curacao and Guyana, countries that have granted permission to the US military to dock in their coasts.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has begun a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean to seek greater support for the Trump administration’s position on Venezuela and to rally more support for his regional strategy. Mexico and Ecuador will be part of Rubio’s tour.

This article first appeared in People’s Dispatch.