MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela announces Armed Forces “review and adjustment” after US attack

Venezuela had about 123,000 active personnel, roughly 8,000 reservists, and a core paramilitary force —the Milicia Bolivariana— of around 220,000 members

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced Friday a “review and adjustment” of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) following the January 3 US attacks, in which 47 Venezuelan soldiers were killed and President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured, EFE reported.

In a televised address on state channel VTV, Padrino López said the country is facing “a new geopolitical situation” and that adjustments under the Ayacucho Plan are necessary. “We are forging ahead in the Ayacucho Plan […] with a reality that warrants a review and adjustment,” he said. He emphasized that “our military honor is intact, intact, our dignity is intact” and called for “spiritual strength” among FANB members.

Padrino López also demanded the release and return of Maduro and Flores, saying the armed forces will continue “fulfilling its national task of stability and progress.”

International reporting from late 2025 and early 2026 provides specific data on Venezuela’s armed forces before the US operation. Estimates from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) indicated that Venezuela had about 123,000 active personnel, roughly 8,000 reservists, and a core paramilitary force —the Milicia Bolivariana— of around 220,000 members. The Bolivarian Army accounted for roughly 63,000 troops, with the remainder distributed among the Navy, National Guard and Air Force. These figures are referenced to understand the force structure preceding the attack and the scope of the announced review.

Reports also show that in military exercises in January 2025, Venezuela mobilized around 150,000 combatants, a deployment intended to demonstrate operational capability amid rising tensions with the United States.