Photo: LUIS JAIMES
Airplanes and loud noises could be heard and a column of smoke was visible in Caracas early on Saturday local time, Reuters witnesses said, while power was out in the south of the Venezuelan capital, near a major military base.
The cause and precise locations of the disturbances were not immediately clear. Videos circulating on social media showed multiple explosions across Caracas. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised land operations in Venezuela. He has not publicly detailed his aims but has privately pressured President Nicolas Maduro to flee the nation, Reuters has reported. Trump said on Monday it would be “smart” for Maduro to leave power.
The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which declined to comment. The Venezuela government in its statement said the goal of the attack is for the United States to take possession of the country’s oil and minerals. It added that the United States “will not succeed” in taking the resources.
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.
President Maduro and President Trump.
Photo: JUAN BARRETO / AFP
Venezuela says it rejects “military aggression” by the US
Venezuela rejects “military aggression” by the United States, the government of President Nicolas Maduro said in a statement early Saturday local time.
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 mobilisation plans.”
-Reuters