Tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to escalate. On December 6, demonstrators in San Francisco staged a protest against U.S. military actions targeting Venezuela.

Amid intensifying U.S. military pressure, over 5,000 new recruits in Venezuela took their oath of enlistment. The country’s military made it clear that it would not tolerate any "invasion by imperialist forces".

On Saturday (December 6) local time, 5,600 soldiers swore their oath of enlistment at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Venezuela has approximately 600,000 active-duty military personnel, plus an additional 200,000 police officers.

In recent times, the United States has increased its military presence in the Caribbean Sea on the pretext of counter-narcotics operations, and has carried out more than 20 strikes against so-called drug-trafficking vessels, resulting in the deaths of at least 87 people.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the U.S. Trump administration of seeking to overthrow the Venezuelan government and called for a strengthening of troop levels.

Multiple U.S. officials and media outlets reported that if Maduro is forced from office, he may seek asylum in Turkey. Turkey and Venezuela maintain close relations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an visited Venezuela in December 2018, expressing support for Maduro, who had been accused of electoral fraud by Europe and the United States.

On Saturday, Erdo?an held a phone call with Maduro, urging him to keep channels of dialogue open with the U.S. side and expressing hope that tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela could de-escalate as soon as possible.

The Maduro administration is also facing domestic challenges. On Saturday, the Caracas-based human rights group Foro Penal reported that 56-year-old former opposition governor Alfredo Díaz had died in prison, suspected to be from a heart attack. However, his wife raised suspicions that he might have been killed.

Díaz is the sixth Venezuelan opposition figure to die in custody in just over a year. These individuals were arrested in connection with protests sparked by the controversy surrounding Maduro’s re-election victory in July last year.

Foro Penal stated that at least 887 political prisoners are being held in Venezuela. In a statement, María Corina Machado—leader of the Venezuelan opposition and winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize—said: "The security and prison systems have been weaponized to hunt down, punish and destroy dissidents."

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to escalate. On December 6, demonstrators in San Francisco staged a protest against U.S. military actions targeting Venezuela.

Amid intensifying U.S. military pressure, over 5,000 new recruits in Venezuela took their oath of enlistment. The country’s military made it clear that it would not tolerate any "invasion by imperialist forces".

On Saturday (December 6) local time, 5,600 soldiers swore their oath of enlistment at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Venezuela has approximately 600,000 active-duty military personnel, plus an additional 200,000 police officers.

In recent times, the United States has increased its military presence in the Caribbean Sea on the pretext of counter-narcotics operations, and has carried out more than 20 strikes against so-called drug-trafficking vessels, resulting in the deaths of at least 87 people.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the U.S. Trump administration of seeking to overthrow the Venezuelan government and called for a strengthening of troop levels.

Multiple U.S. officials and media outlets reported that if Maduro is forced from office, he may seek asylum in Turkey. Turkey and Venezuela maintain close relations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an visited Venezuela in December 2018, expressing support for Maduro, who had been accused of electoral fraud by Europe and the United States.

On Saturday, Erdo?an held a phone call with Maduro, urging him to keep channels of dialogue open with the U.S. side and expressing hope that tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela could de-escalate as soon as possible.

The Maduro administration is also facing domestic challenges. On Saturday, the Caracas-based human rights group Foro Penal reported that 56-year-old former opposition governor Alfredo Díaz had died in prison, suspected to be from a heart attack. However, his wife raised suspicions that he might have been killed.

Díaz is the sixth Venezuelan opposition figure to die in custody in just over a year. These individuals were arrested in connection with protests sparked by the controversy surrounding Maduro’s re-election victory in July last year.

Foro Penal stated that at least 887 political prisoners are being held in Venezuela. In a statement, María Corina Machado—leader of the Venezuelan opposition and winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize—said: "The security and prison systems have been weaponized to hunt down, punish and destroy dissidents."