- Column of smoke seen, loud noises heard in Venezuelan capital.
- Pentagon refrains from immediately responding to reports of attack.
- Trump admin officials are aware of reports of explosions.
The US has carried out strikes inside Venezuela, a US official said, as explosions rocked the capital Caracas following months of threats by President Donald Trump against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuelan government said attacks also took place in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, prompting Maduro to declare a national emergency and mobilise defence forces.
US media outlets, including Fox News and CBS News, reported that the United States was conducting military strikes on the Caribbean country, in a dramatic escalation that Venezuelans had feared for weeks.
The blasts, accompanied by the sound of planes flying over the city, were heard around 2:00am (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.
Trump administration officials are aware of reports of explosions and aircraft over Venezuela’s capital Caracas early on Saturday morning, CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs posted on X.
Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maduro has accused the Trump administration of seeking a change in government to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
“At this moment they are bombing Caracas”, Colombian President Gustavo Petro posted on X. “Alert everyone — they have attacked Venezuela. They are bombing with missiles. The (Organisation of American States) and the UN must meet immediately.”
Petro, who did not provide further information or indicate the source of his assertions, has repeatedly expressed opposition to the US pressure campaign.
The US has made a major military buildup in the region, including an aircraft carrier, warships and advanced fighter jets stationed in the Caribbean.
Trump has announced a “blockade” of Venezuelan oil, expanded sanctions and staged more than two dozen strikes on vessels the US alleges were involved in trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Last week, Trump said the United States had “hit” an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, marking the first known time Washington has carried out land operations in Venezuela since the pressure campaign began.
He did not say whether those strikes were carried out by the CIA or not. Other media outlets have reported that the spy agency was behind them.
Trump has accused the South American country of flooding the US with drugs, and his administration has for months been bombing boats originating in South America that it alleges were carrying drugs.
Many nations have condemned the attacks as extrajudicial killings and Maduro’s government has always denied any involvement with drug trafficking.
