Multiple explosions, loud detonations and the sound of low-flying aircraft were reported in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, early Saturday, amid claims that US President Donald Trump had ordered military strikes against the country.
At around 2:00 am Venezuela time, residents across several neighborhoods said powerful blasts shook buildings, prompting people to flee into the streets. The Associated Press reported that at least seven explosions were heard across the city.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker.
In the early hours of the incident, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that Venezuela was under attack. “Right now they are bombing Caracas … bombing it with missiles,” Petro wrote on X, calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Shortly afterwards, CBS News reported that President Trump had ordered the strikes, including attacks on military facilities. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Eyewitnesses reported smoke rising from at least two major military sites in Caracas — the La Carlota military airfield, located near the center of the capital, and the Fuerte Tiuna military base, one of the country’s most strategic installations and long believed to house President Nicolás Maduro. Reports also suggested that Higuerote airport, east of Caracas, may have been targeted.
Venezuela’s government did not immediately issue an official statement regarding the explosions.
The reported strikes come after five months of escalating US pressure on President Maduro, which analysts say has been aimed at forcing him from power. Since August, Trump has ordered a significant military buildup off Venezuela’s northern coast and authorized a series of air strikes on vessels described by US officials as “narco boats”.
Trump has repeatedly threatened ground operations in Venezuela, while expanding sanctions, increasing the US military presence in the region and ordering more than two dozen strikes on ships accused of drug trafficking in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
The US has also seized sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela and imposed blockades on others, moves widely seen as part of a broader effort to intensify economic pressure on Caracas.
