Maduro seeks to expand armed militias

Embattled

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced plans to expand the number of civilians involved in armed militias as tensions in the crisis-wracked South American nation continued to rise.

Maduro said he hopes to expand the number of civilians involved in the Bolivarian militias created by the late Hugo Chavez to 500,000, up from the current 100,000, and provide each member with a gun. Maduro said it is time for Venezuelans to decide if they are “with the homeland or with the betrayal of the homeland.” (AP)