Venezuela accused the US of launching an attack on the country after explosions rocked Caracas, the capital, and aircraft were seen flying overhead, following weeks of pressure from the Trump administration against the regime of Nicolas Maduro.
The first explosions were heard around 2 a.m. local time, according to residents. The Venezuelan government said military and civilian targets had been hit across three regions and called on “political and social forces” to rally against the attacks.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. CBS News cited US officials as saying that President Donald Trump had given the order to strike days ago but other military operations took precedence and then weather delayed the plans.
If true, launching airstrikes would mark the most serious escalation yet in Trump’s months-long campaign against Venezuela, which saw him build up military forces in the region, authorize a series of attacks on alleged drug-running boats and accuse Maduro of running a terrorist organization.
The US has also orchestrated a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers going into and leaving Venezuela. Last month, Trump warned his campaign would “only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.”
US Senator Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, said the US has “no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war.”
“We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now,” Schatz said, adding that Trump is “not even bothering to tell the American public what the hell is going on.”
“Venezuela has been attacked!” Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro posted on X, adding his government had triggered an “operational plan” in its cities which border Venezuela. Petro also called on the Organization of American States and the United Nations to meet “immediately.”
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