Venezuela’s Maduro to expand civilian militia by 1-million
Embattled president orders the expansion as Western-backed opponent Guaido tours blackout-ravaged western Zulia state
Caracas/Maracaibo — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered an expansion of civilian militia by nearly 1-million members as opposition leader Juan Guaido tours western Zulia state, which has been hard hit by electricity blackouts. Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly who in January invoked Venezuela’s constitution to assume an interim presidency, has called on the military to abandon Maduro amid a hyperinflationary economic collapse made worse by several nationwide blackouts in the past month. Guaido has been recognised as Venezuela’s rightful leader by the US and most Western countries, who agree with his argument that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. The civilian militia, created in 2008 by the late former president and Maduro mentor Hugo Chavez, reports directly to the presidency and is intended to complement the armed forces. Maduro, who calls Guaido a US puppet, said he aimed to raise the number of militia members to 3-million ...
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