US President Donald Trump declared on social media that the US has conducted a “large scale military strike” against Venezuela and seized President Nicolas Maduro.
Following reports of loud explosions in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, early on Saturday, Trump made the declaration on his Truth Social platform, signaling a significant escalation against the Latin American nation.
Trump said that Maduro’s wife was also captured during the operation and both were “flown out of the country”.
“This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” Trump wrote.
The Venezuelan government has yet to issue a statement in response to Trump’s latest claim.
Earlier, it was reported that Maduro declared a national state of emergency in response to the attack, which the Venezuelan government described as a “military aggression”.
The government said the attacks occurred in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday as well as in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. Venezuela also accused Washington of staging the assault in an attempt to seize Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources, pledging that such efforts “will not succeed”.
Explosions were heard and plumes of smoke were seen rising in Caracas early on Saturday following the attack.
Video footage obtained by Al Jazeera showed balls of fire and thick smoke coming from a structure next to a body of water in Caracas early on Saturday.
Quoting sources, Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, who is reporting from Santiago in Chile, said the explosion occurred near or around Fort Tiuna, the main military base in Caracas.
“Fort Tiuna is a key military base there. A series of explosions was reportedly heard throughout the area, followed by a blackout,” Newman said.
Sissi De Flavis, a journalist based in Caracas, told Al Jazeera that she heard what sounded like a huge truck crashing, followed by an intense shaking of the ground.
“The skies started to light up. Then there was a ball of orange fire glowing. You can still hear planes flying over right now, although there have not been any explosions since then,” De Flavis told Al Jazeera.
The Associated Press news agency reported at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in the capital.
An image published by AP also showed smoke rising at La Carlota airport following the series of explosions in the capital.
People in various neighbourhoods were seen rushing to the streets following the explosions. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance,” Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, told AP, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party.
“We felt like the air was hitting us.”
Trump’s threat to attack targets purportedly connected to drug trafficking has caused tensions in Venezuela to rise in recent weeks.
Trump also disclosed earlier this week that the US campaign’s first known attack on Venezuelan soil occurred last week at a landing facility for suspected Venezuelan drug boats.
The US president has called drug gangs in Latin America, especially those in Venezuela, “narcoterrorists” and has frequently threatened to launch ground operations against them.
He has asserted—without offering proof—that Maduro of Venezuela is in charge of a drug trafficking organization that seeks to destabilize the US by flooding it with drugs.
Maduro remained silent on the rumored CIA-led strike on Venezuelan territory, but he did say in an interview on Thursday that Venezuela was willing to negotiate a deal with the US to fight drug trafficking.
In the interview, Maduro further asserted that Washington’s months-long campaign of military pressure and sanctions is an attempt by the US to overthrow his administration and obtain access to Venezuela’s enormous oil reserves.
Maduro responded, “This could be something we talk about in a few days,” when asked directly if he acknowledged or rejected a US attack on Venezuelan territory.
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