The Venezuelan government kicked off the activities of the new recruits of the civil militia on Friday, rallying with supporters who drove motorcycles across the capital, Caracas.

The new recruits began their training to join public security duties, with the troopers also being added to the army.

Pedro Infante, Vice President of the National Assembly, told the new recruits they are preparing to "guarantee peace in the territory," but they are not seeking war.

It comes as tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to mount after Donald Trump said the U.S. forces struck a boat that allegedly carried drugs from Venezuela.

The deadly U.S. military attack on a boat accused of carrying drugs in the Caribbean this week is the latest in a series of extraordinary measures that President Donald Trump has taken to combat the threat he sees from multiple criminal organizations.

The White House has offered few details on Tuesday’s attack and insists the 11 people aboard were members of the gang.

U.S. officials have yet to explain how the military determined that those aboard the vessel were Tren de Aragua members.

The strike represents a paradigm shift in how the U.S. is willing to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

The U.S. Department of State has issued a reward of $50 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro responded on Friday, saying the accusations are lies to wage a war in the Caribbean.

Government supporters, public workers and local community leaders will begin a process of preparation and training as part of a broad territorial defense plan.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro recently estimated that the army and the militias amount to a force of 12,700,000 Venezuelans.

Maduro has avoided direct comments about the strike and his government has accused the video showing the strike on boat Trump said killed 11 to be AI fabricated.

The strike is the latest chapter in a saga of tensions between the two countries amid the U.S. military build up in the Caribbean off Venezuelan waters that was followed by Maduro's call for a nation-wide militia enlistment campaign.

The militias were created in Venezuela by the late President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) to incorporate volunteers who could assist the armed forces in defense.

AP Video by Juan Arraez