Venezuela Prepares Asymmetric War Plan: Sabotage, Ambushes, and Guerrilla Attacks Against a Possible US Strike

CARACAS — Venezuela has quietly refined a national defense strategy centered not on meeting the United States head-on, but on dragging any potential conflict into a long, costly, and chaotic asymmetric war. According to internal military planning documents and intelligence assessments, Caracas expects that any future confrontation with Washington would be defined by covert operations, guerrilla warfare, nationwide sabotage, and urban chaos designed to make governance nearly impossible for foreign forces.

A Strategy Built on Asymmetry, Not Firepower

Venezuela’s conventional military capabilities are heavily outmatched by the United States. A direct clash would be short and disastrous. For that reason, the country’s war doctrine—developed since the Hugo Chávez era—relies on asymmetric defense: dispersing forces, hiding assets, denying terrain, and launching continuous small-scale attacks that drain an invading force’s strength.

Defense officials say the backbone of this strategy includes more than 280 concealed defensive positions spread across mountainous terrain, dense jungles, coastal corridors, and urban districts. These sites are believed to house anti-aircraft systems, missile platforms, logistics hubs, and command centers designed to continue operating even after significant U.S. airstrikes.

If war breaks out, Venezuela’s armed forces would immediately scatter across the country, avoiding large bases that could be destroyed in the conflict’s opening hours. Ground units would switch to guerrilla-style tactics: hit-and-run ambushes, roadside bombs, sabotage of infrastructure, and nighttime assaults on isolated targets.

“Anarchization”: Turning Caracas Uncontrollable

A second classified component of Venezuela’s war doctrine is known internally as “anarchization.” Unlike traditional battlefield strategy, this plan focuses on turning Caracas itself into an unmanageable zone in the event of a U.S. intervention.

The plan reportedly includes:

• Activation of intelligence cells embedded within civilian institutions

• Deployment of armed pro-government colectivos, paramilitary-style groups loyal to Nicolás Maduro

• Mass sabotage of transportation systems, communications networks, utilities, and supply chains

• Staged instability operations that would overwhelm any occupying forces

Analysts say the anarchization strategy is designed to make Caracas ungovernable within hours—forcing U.S. forces to operate in a hostile urban labyrinth filled with unpredictable militias, widespread misinformation, and broken infrastructure.

Lessons From Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria

Venezuela’s planners have studied the U.S. experiences in Baghdad, Kandahar, Fallujah, and Raqqa. The conclusion: the fastest way to defeat a superior military is not by destroying it—but by denying it victory through prolonged instability.

Officials involved in developing the asymmetric doctrine have cited multiple goals:

• Slow down U.S. forces by forcing them into urban overwatch and counterinsurgency

• Create constant political pressure in Washington as casualties rise

• Prevent any pro-U.S. transitional government from stabilizing

• Make long-term occupation financially and militarily unsustainable

Civil Militias and “Nationwide Defense”

Over the past decade, the Maduro government has built a network of civilian militias numbering more than 3 million members, though outside analysts believe only a fraction are trained or equipped for combat. These groups would support local defense units, conduct reconnaissance, and disrupt any supply lines established by foreign forces.

Additionally, the country’s intelligence services (SEBIN and DGCIM) are expected to coordinate clandestine operations, including cyberattacks, misinformation campaigns, and sabotage of oil infrastructure—a critical pressure point for both domestic stability and international markets.

Growing U.S.–Venezuela Tensions Fuel Planning

Washington’s recent deployment of F-35 squadrons, naval assets, and reconnaissance aircraft across the Caribbean, along with the reactivation of the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, has heightened fears in Caracas that the U.S. is preparing contingency plans targeting Venezuela.

While both governments deny imminent conflict, U.S. officials continue to accuse Venezuela of supporting transnational criminal networks, narcotics trafficking, and hosting foreign military advisers from Russia and Iran.

In response, Venezuelan leaders have intensified preparation for a scenario they insist is possible, even if not likely.

A Conflict Neither Side Wants—But Both Are Preparing For

Despite harsh rhetoric, both Washington and Caracas understand that a military conflict would carry enormous risks. U.S. success would not be guaranteed, and Venezuela’s economy—already fragile—could collapse entirely.

Yet the Maduro government’s asymmetric defense doctrine underscores a key reality:
if pushed into a corner, Venezuela intends to fight a war of resistance, not one of battlefield confrontation.

And in the event of an attack, the United States would find itself not facing a traditional army—but a nationwide guerrilla network prepared to turn Venezuela into one of the most difficult battlefields in the Western Hemisphere.