Explosions rock Caracas as Venezuela accuses U.S. of attacks; Maduro declares national emergency
Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.
Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.
The government of President Nicolas Maduro said in a statement that Venezuela rejects “military aggression” by the United States.
Attacks took place in the capital of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, the statement said, prompting Maduro to declare a national emergency and call on social and political forces to “activate mobilization plans.”
The official statement indicates that the attack constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and threatens the peace and stability of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Venezuelan government accuses Washington of attempting to seize the country’s strategic resources, such as oil and minerals, and of undermining its political independence, according to the Venezuelan news agency.
President Maduro also ordered the immediate deployment of the Command for the Comprehensive Defense of the Nation and the governing bodies in all states and municipalities, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, reserving the right to exercise legitimate self-defense, the source said.
U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. 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.
The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.
They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.
