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Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez noted that there are 40 Militia enlistment centers in Caracas alone, and more than 1,000 nationwide. Authorities hope to recruit some 4.5 million people to oppose US operations in the Caribbean.

Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez and Elvis Amoroso, President of the National Electoral Council (CNE), called on Venezuelans to voluntarily enlist in the Militia to defend the country and peace.

We call on Venezuelans to take care of the most precious good we have, which is peace, Amoroso said this Friday, August 29, from the Bolívar Square in Caracas , during the start of the second day of enlistment, called by the authorities for this August 29 and 30.

The president of the electoral body also insisted that we are obligated to defend the popular will and demand respect for Nicolás Maduro, saying:"We are here, on our knees, to defend him and to defend our beloved homeland, Venezuela." Under no circumstances should there be fear here. What we need is courage.

Meléndez recalled that there are 40 locations in Caracas alone for people to register with the Bolivarian National Militia, and that there are more than a thousand nationwide. The national government hopes to recruit some 4.5 million people to this organization to demonstrate their opposition to the deployment of US military troops in Caribbean waters to combat drug trafficking.

The CNE reported that more than a thousand employees marched from its headquarters in Caracas to Plaza Bolívar to join the enlistment.

It is not forced recruitment

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López reiterated that the call to enlist in the Militia is not a forced recruitment. He said it is a voluntary act, demonstrating the patriotism of Venezuelans.

He announced that after the enlistment sessions, other processes will follow, which will be announced in due course.

The Minister of Defense called for national unity to clear the path of military aggression that US imperialism is planning against Venezuela and condemned what he claimed was a psychological operation against the country and the region worldwide.

Padrino condemned what he calls a US-led operation threatening to forcefully change our democratic political system. It's an act completely contrary to international law; trying to forcefully impose regime change, as they're accustomed to doing around the world.

We are not drug traffickers, stated the Minister of Defense, who announced that they will be more effectively reporting on the actions, operational deployments, and strategic operations that authorities are pursuing in the fight against narcotics, drug prosecution, and trafficking that they intend to establish in national territory.