At least seven loud explosions were heard across Venezuela’s capital, Caracas (early Saturday), with air sirens and low-flying aircraft adding to the alarm. Several neighborhoods reported panic on the streets and power outages following the blasts.
According to AFP, the blasts were heard around 2.00 am local time (0600 GMT). The first explosion was recorded shortly before 1.50 am.
“One was so strong, my window was shaking after it,” CNN correspondent Osmary Hernández said.
Witnesses reported hearing aircraft overhead following the explosions. Smoke was also visible in the southern part of the city near a major military base, according to Reuters. Videos of the explosions quickly surfaced on social media.
President
Donald Trump confirmed that US had ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities. Trump also said that Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro has been captures along with his wife and flown out of the country.
The strikes follow months of American military buildup in the region, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier and several other warships in the Caribbean.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned American commercial flights from operating in Venezuelan airspace, citing concerns over “ongoing military activity,” shortly before a series of explosions were reported in the capital, news agency AP reported.
Several areas of Caracas were left without electricity and residents in multiple neighborhoods rushed out onto the streets.
Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, earlier declared a national emergency after a series of explosions rocked the capital Caracas. The government accused the United States of carrying out “military aggression” against civilian and military installations across multiple states. The government further for 'mobilization' of the population after US 'attack', news agency AFP reported.
In a government statement, Venezuelan authorities said the US had attacked strategic sites in several parts of the country.
The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions, as US President Donald Trump has recently deployed a naval task force to the Caribbean and raised the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela. In recent days, the US military has also been targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region.
US embassy issues travel advisory after Caracas explosions
The US Embassy in Bogotá has issued travel advisory urging US citizens not to travel to Venezuela. In its warning issued, the embassy said Americans currently in Venezuela should shelter in place and leave the country as soon as it is safe to do so.
The embassy reminded citizens that Venezuela is under a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory, the highest warning level, citing severe risks including wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and poor health infrastructure.
The US Department of State withdrew all diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Caracas in March 2019 and suspended operations. As a result, all consular services, including emergency assistance, remain unavailable and the US government has no ability to provide help to American citizens inside Venezuela.
The advisory also urged US citizens to establish multiple ways of communicating with family and friends outside Venezuela and to closely monitor developments as the situation unfolds.
Colombia accuses US of ‘military aggression’
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday posted an official statement from the Venezuelan government, in which Caracas accused the United States of carrying out a serious military attack on Venezuelan territory.
“The Bolivarian Republic of 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 population,” the statement read.
The statement claimed the alleged attack violated the United Nations Charter, citing Articles 1 and 2 on respect for sovereignty and the prohibition of the use of force, and warned that such actions “threaten international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and put the lives of millions of people at grave risk.”
According to the statement shared by Petro, the Venezuelan government said the objective of the alleged attack was “to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals” and to undermine the country’s political independence. “They will not succeed,” the statement added.
Maduro signals openness to talks with US
Earlier, Maduro had claimed that he was open to negotiating with the United States on issues including drug trafficking, oil and migration. Speaking in a pre-recorded interview aired on Venezuelan state television on Thursday, Maduro said he was ready for dialogue with Washington “wherever they want and whenever they want.”
However, Maduro also accused the US of using its months-long pressure campaign as a way to force a change in government and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
He strongly rejected allegations that his administration is linked to drug cartels, calling the US “war on drugs” a pretext for intervention. Asked directly about President Trump’s claim that American forces had struck a docking facility in Venezuela, Maduro declined to confirm or deny the report, saying it was “something we could talk about in a few days.”
Trump signals openness on US ‘war on drugs’
On Monday, Trump said the United States had carried out a strike on a “dock area” in Venezuela used by boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking, describing it as a “major explosion.” According to CNN, the blast was caused by a drone strike carried out by the CIA.
"There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area... it's the implementation area," Trump said.
The remarks came as the US military has intensified operations against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Since September, American forces have carried out more than 30 strikes on boats they say were involved in narcotics trafficking, resulting in over 110 deaths, according to US officials. The latest attack, reported earlier this week, killed five people aboard two boats, the US military said.
Trump has repeatedly accused Maduro of flooding the US with drugs and migrants, claims the Venezuelan leader strongly denies. He has also doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture and threatened to designate his government as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.