Venezuela defense minister says will resist presence of foreign troops

Venezuela will resist the presence of foreign troops, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said in a video early on Saturday.

A U.S. attack on the country in the early morning struck civilian areas, Padrino said, and Venezuela is compiling information about dead and injured people.

At least seven explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through the capital of Venezuela early Saturday, with the government of leader Nicolás Maduro accusing the United States of attacking civilian and military installations following a monthslong pressure campaign.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban on U.S. commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace because of “ongoing military activity” ahead of the explosions in Caracas.

Venezuela’s government called on its supporters to take to the streets.

“People to the streets!” it said in a statement. “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 Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”