Venezuelan citizens enlist in national militia as Trump steps up pressure on Maduro | AFP

Venezuela citizens queue in Caracas to enlist in the national militia after President Nicolas Maduro called on his government's political base to move forward with the formation of peasant and worker militias 'in all industries.' Maduro said he would deploy 4.5 million militia members in response to US 'threats,' after Washington raised the bounty for his arrest and launched anti-drug operations in the Caribbean. Official figures say the Venezuelan militia, founded by Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, contains about 5 million people, though the actual number is believed to be smaller. Maduro hit out at the US deployment of three warships off the coast of Venezuela as part of efforts to curb drug trafficking, calling the operation an 'illegal' attempt at regime change.