The Venezuelan government accused the United States on Saturday of attacking civilian and military facilities in several states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were reported over the capital Caracas around 2 a.m. local time.Following the strikes, President Nicolás Maduro declared a nationwide state of emergency, ordered the implementation of national defense plans and called for “mass mobilization.”
Meanwhile, U.S. officials later told CBS News that President Donald Trump had ordered attacks on sites in Venezuela, including military facilities, as Washington escalated its campaign against the Maduro government.The attacks followed months of U.S. military buildup in the region, including the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and several other warships in the Caribbean. In recent weeks, the United States has seized two oil tankers off Venezuela and launched deadly attacks on more than 30 boats that the U.S. says were transporting drugs.Colombian President Gustavo Petro shared Venezuela’s official statement on X, which said:“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, rejects and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression of the current Government of the United States of America against the Venezuelan territory and population in the civil and military areas of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.This law constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, in particular Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States and the prohibition of the use of force. Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, and endangers the lives of millions of people.The aim of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, and attempt to break the country’s political independence by force. They won’t succeed…”
Government blames the USA and calls for mobilization
In an official statement, the Venezuelan government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military areas and urged its supporters to take to the streets.“People on the streets!” the statement says. “The Bolivarian government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and reject this imperialist attack.”The statement continued that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered the implementation of all national defense plans” and declared “a state of external unrest.”
A state of emergency was declared because Maduro had allegedly sought regime change
The incident came amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington.In a prerecorded interview broadcast Thursday, Maduro said the United States wants to force a change of government in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through a months-long pressure campaign that began with a major U.S. military operation in the Caribbean in August.Maduro has been charged with drug terrorism in the United States.
Trump threats, blockade and military buildup
Trump had threatened for months that he would soon order attacks on targets on Venezuelan land.The United States has seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela and Trump ordered a blockade of more oil tankers, a move apparently aimed at increasing pressure on the South American country’s economy.The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific since the beginning of September. According to the Trump administration, there were 35 known boat attacks and at least 115 deaths as of Friday.The attacks followed a major buildup of American forces off South America, including the arrival in November of the U.S. military’s most advanced aircraft carrier, adding thousands of troops to what was already the largest U.S. military presence in the region in generations.Trump had justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, saying the United States was in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.(With inputs from AP)
