Explosions reported in Venezuelan capital Caracas

Summary

Venezuela’s authoritarian government has accused the US of launching a series of attacks against civilian and military targets in the South American country, after explosions rocked its capital, Caracas, before dawn on Saturday.In a statement, Venezuela’s government said Washington risked plunging Latin America into chaos with “an extremely serious” act of “imperial aggression”, as US media reported that Donald Trump ordered strikes against the South American country.Explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday. In its statement, Venezuela’s government confirmed that the city had come under attack, as well as three other states: Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua.“The only objective of this attack is to seize control of Venezuela’s strategic resources, in particular its oil and minerals,” it said, calling on the international community to denounce what it called a flagrant violation of international law that put millions of lives at risk.The president of neighbouring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, claimed on social media that Venezuela was coming under attack. “Right now they are bombing Caracas … bombing it with missiles,” Petro wrote on X, calling for an immediate emergency session of the UN security council.Soon after CBS News reported that Trump had had ordered the attacks – including on military facilities. The White House and Pentagon did not respond to request for comment.At least seven explosions were heard about 2am local time and people in various neighbourhoods rushed to the street, the Associated Press reported. “The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker.Eyewitnesses reported seeing smoke pouring from two key military installations in Caracas: the La Carlota military airfield at the heart of the city and the Fuerte Tiuna military base where Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, has long been thought to live. Anothe...