Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday declared a state of emergency over what his government called an "extremely serious military aggression" by the United States on the capital Caracas.
Multiple explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard around the city, international news agencies reported. "Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people," Maduro's government said.
At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 am local time Saturday in Caracas. While the White House is yet to comment, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned US commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace over "ongoing military activity" ahead of explosions in Caracas.
Calls to the US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region, went unanswered, AP reported.
Saturday's blasts come as the US military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.
Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the US. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.
US President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The US has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.
As explosions rang out in Venezuela's capital early Saturday and the government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, there was no immediate response from the US government.
Associated Press reported that the Pentagon referred requests for comment to the White House, which didn’t immediately return calls or emails seeking comment. "Calls to the US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region, went unanswered," the AP said.
US President Donald Trump is at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he has spent the last two weeks for the holiday season. His public schedule showed he was set to receive an intelligence briefing on Friday evening, hours before the reported strikes. He offered no immediate comment on social media.
The explosions come as the Trump administration has escalated a pressure campaign on Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September.
Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land following months of attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs. Maduro has decried the US military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.
Amid the US allegedly bombing Venezuela, people in the capital, Caracas, rushed to their windows and terraces in the middle of the night to try to make sense of events.
"From here, we can hear explosions near Fort Tiuna," said Emmanuel Parabavis, referring to a large military base in the capital. "Right now, you can hear something that sounds like a machine gun. There are a lot of detonations and gunfire," Parabavis, 29, a public relations employee in the El Valle district, told AFP.
Power has been cut in certain parts of the city, according to residents.
Francis Pena, a 29-year-old communications professional living in eastern Caracas, told AFP that he was sleeping and his girlfriend woke him and said "they're bombing." "I can't see the explosions, but I (think I) hear the planes. We're starting to prepare a bag with the most important things at home -- passport, cards, cash, candles, a change of clothes, canned food," Pena said.
US President Donald Trump, who deployed an aircraft carrier and warships to the Caribbean as part of what he initially presented as an anti-drug smuggling campaign, had repeatedly threatened strikes on Venezuelan soil. He said on Monday the United States had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats, in what would be the first known land strike of the campaign.
Maduro had neither confirmed nor denied that strike, but said on Thursday he was open to cooperation with Washington. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel, but the leftist leader denies any involvement in the narcotics trade, saying Washington is seeking to overthrow him because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on Earth.
Washington has informally closed Venezuela's airspace in recent weeks, imposed more sanctions and ordered the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil. US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers. The strikes have killed at least 107 people, according to the US military.
Venezuela accused the United States of an "extremely serious military aggression" after explosions rocked the capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday following a months-long pressure campaign by President Donald Trump.
The blasts, accompanied by the sound of planes flying over the city, were heard around 2:00 am (0600 GMT) Saturday, an AFP journalist said. Explosions were also heard in La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas's airport and port are located.
"Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people," the government of leftist President Nicolas Maduro said. The Venezuelan leader also declared a state of emergency.
The president of neighbouring Colombia called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations over the strikes. "Alerting the whole world that they have attacked Venezuela," leftist leader Gustavo Petro wrote on social media platform X.
The FAA’s warning, known as “Notice to Airmen,” came shortly after one in the morning on the east coast of the US. It warned all commercial and private US pilots that the airspace over Venezuela and the small island nation of Curacao, just off the coast of the country to the north, was off-limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.” The warnings are designed to alert pilots to a variety of dangers. (AP)
The explosions in Caracas occurred within less than 30 minutes. People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the streets. while others took to social media to report hearing and seeing the blasts. Two hours later, various areas of the city remained without power, but vehicles continued to move freely.
Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power. “The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.” (AP)
Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets. “People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”
The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.” That state of emergency gives him the power to suspend people’s rights and expand the role of the armed forces. (AP)
The United States military was behind a series of strikes against the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday, US media reported. The White House and Pentagon have not commented on the explosions and reports of aircraft over the city. US media outlets CBS News and Fox News reported unnamed Trump administration officials confirming that US forces were involved. (AFP)
Source: ETVBharat