Workers from Venalum, Alcasa, and Ferrominera are reporting pressure to enlist in the Bolivarian Militia in 2025. Claims of job threats, human rights violations, and labor coercion are emerging from the CVG.
In 2025, unions, human rights organizations, and workers from the state-owned basic industries in Bolívar have flagged an alarming pattern of forced recruitment in the Guayana region, especially within the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG), including Venalum (Venezolana de Aluminio), Alcasa, and Ferrominera.
According to these allegations, thousands of employees are pressured to enlist in the Bolivarian Militia, a paramilitary force established during the chavismo era, under the official campaign “I enlist”. This phenomenon occurs amid the post-election tensions of 2024 and purported “external threats” from the United States, as promoted by the government of Nicolás Maduro in August and September of 2025.
Mandatory Enlistment Campaign
On August 23 and 24, 2025, Maduro’s regime announced a “Great National Enlistment Day” for the Bolivarian Militia. Official figures claim that 8.2 million people registered; however, organizations like Peace Laboratory (LabPaz) argue that much of this registration was forced, particularly among public employees and workers in state-owned companies. Others maintain that the numbers presented are false.
The declared goal of this enlistment is supposedly to “defend the homeland” against alleged external threats. Critics and activists assert that this is an attempt to use the population as human shields, consolidating the regime’s power amid an economic crisis.
Direct Orders in the CVG: Venalum and Alcasa Under Pressure
Reports received by this outlet suggest that orders for forced recruitment to enlist in the Militia are coming from Miraflores and must be complied with by all active workers in the basic industries of CVG, including Venalum, Alcasa, and Ferrominera.
Workers are required to fill out forms and show up at the Strategic Defense Regions (REDI) with no age limit. The report asserts that the process is a “forced recruitment.” Social media also labels it as a “crime of the regime,” warning that they aim to use them as “cannon fodder” in a context where minimum wages are equivalent to less than 4 dollars a month.
Methods of Coercion: Labor and Economic Threats
In companies across Guayana, supervisors are collecting personal data (name, ID, address, phone) to verify who has enlisted. Workers are being questioned:
“Are you enlisted? Aren’t you enlisting? Where did you enlist?”
According to LabPaz, these practices violate the Article 134 of the Venezuelan Constitution, which prohibits forced recruitment, as well as international treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The report also includes demands for support videos for the campaign, which constitutes “labor and political intimidation.” Those who refuse face threats of dismissal, loss of benefits, and reprisals that directly affect their families.
Venalum: A Hub for Labor Repression
Venalum, the primary aluminum producer in Guayana, already faced labor complaints before 2025. Among them:
Persecution and threats for claims of contractual debts.
Lack of protective equipment, with 85 accidents reported in 2022.
Reprisals for protests, including the arrest of worker Jesús Eduardo Romero in 2024 after he denounced explosions in the plant, accused of “terrorism.”
Whistleblowers indicate a climate of intimidation, marked by labor abuses that could lead to arbitrary arrests.
Historical Patterns: Political Coercion in Basic Industries
The political forcing in the CVG is not new. In December 2023, workers were bussed to vote in the Esequibo referendum. In July 2024, similar tactics were applied to compel them to attend marches and pro-government events, with unmet incentives and even reported deaths during mobilizations.
The “not required” system (unjustified dismissals) is used as a recurring threat for those who refuse to comply with these orders.
Potential International Crimes
Organizations like Provea and the National Union Coalition warn that forced recruitment could amount to forced labor and an international crime. They have established confidential reporting channels for affected workers, such as [email protected].
These practices violate labor rights, the right to conscientious objection, and norms regarding freedom of association, impacting thousands of families in a nation grappling with hyperinflation and precarious wages.
Reports regarding allegations of forced recruitment in the basic industries of Guayana confirm a systematic pattern of political control and militarization of labor in Venezuela. What were once “voluntary” marches and events have now transformed into a mandatory paramilitary enlistment, violating fundamental rights and endangering workers and their families.
Independent organizations are urging the documentation and reporting of these abuses to shed light on a reality that remains hidden within the industrial plants of Guayana due to censorship and fear.