Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday the deployment of 4.5 million militiamen throughout the country after the United States doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest and increased the number of troops sailing around Latin America and the Caribbean.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that more than 4.5 million armed militia members would be deployed across the country this week amid escalating tensions with Washington. Speaking on state television, Maduro said Monday the deployment was part of a “peace plan” and called on the militia members to be “ready, active and armed.”