At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2am on Saturday in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

A post by a CBS reporter on X said US President Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela including military facilities.

Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro has declared a national emergency.

Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states and said it rejected the "military aggression".

It said the attacks took place in Caracas and Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira states and called on all social and political forces to activate mobilization plans.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Venezuelan state television did not interrupt its programming and aired a report on Venezuelan music and art.

The blasts come as the US military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking .

Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired on Thursday that the United States wanted to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the months-long pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.

Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The United States has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115. (Agencies)

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Last updated: 2026-01-03 HKT 15:59