Explosions and low-flying aircraft heard in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas
At least seven explosions and low-flying planes were heard in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
It was not immediately clear what was behind the explosions, which occurred at around 2am local time (5pm AEDT) on Saturday.
The Venezuelan government, the Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Citizens flocked to the streets in various neighborhoods. Some of them were visible in the distance from various parts of Caracas.
“The whole ground shook. It’s scary. We heard explosions and planes in the distance,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. He was walking briskly with two of his relatives on their way back from a birthday party. “We felt the air hit us.”
Venezuelan state television did not interrupt the program and broadcast a report on Venezuelan music and art.
The explosions took place after the US military targeted boats allegedly involved in drug smuggling in recent days. Venezuela on Friday said it was open to negotiating a deal with the United States to combat drug trafficking.
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 massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August, the South American country’s President Nicolás Maduro also said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast Thursday.
Mr Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism in the US The CIA was behind last week’s drone strike on a docking area believed to be used by Venezuelan drug cartels, the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began attacking boats in September.
US President Donald Trump has been threatening for months that he could soon order attacks on targets on Venezuelan territory. The United States has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Mr. Trump has ordered a blockade of other tankers in a move that appears designed to put tighter pressure on the South American country’s economy.
The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. According to figures released by the Trump administration, the number of known boat attacks as of Friday is 35, and the number of deaths is at least 115.
They have watched a massive build-up of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, adding thousands more troops to the largest military presence in the region in generations.
Mr. Trump justified the boat attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States and suggested the United States was engaged in a “gunfight” with drug cartels.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported the explosions in Caracas on Saturday by broadcasting images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared hostility towards the United States.
