I woke to a huge bang in Caracas
When I left my house this morning it was clear that this was not a normal day.
The streets in the southeastern suburb of Venezuela’s capital Caracas are quiet, aside from the queues outside gas stations, supermarkets and pharmacies.
Throughout the night, the darkness of the city was pierced by orange lights and the hum of planes echoing in the valley. US President Donald Trump announced a “large-scale” attack against Venezuela and captured the country’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
It was almost 2 a.m. when I woke up with a huge explosion. Everything was shaking, my heart was pounding, and I jumped to the window. At the military air base next to my house, I could see flames in the middle of the runway, but I couldn’t see anyone running.
This time, while I could still hear the distant explosions, my phone lit up as people started logging into WhatsApp and telling me what was going on.
The drama of the night contrasted with the calm and beautiful morning on Saturday, which saw a spectacular sunrise over the city.
But with dawn came a great sense of uncertainty about what might happen next.
Today, in a way, feels like the day former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died in 2013, and people are trying to understand what happened.
An employee of the Baruta Municipality who works at the local gas station said that two of his colleagues were unable to go to work because there was no sign of public transport in my area.
A pharmacy is serving customers in a line with its door closed, perhaps to help manage supplies.
Following the recent massive migration from Venezuela, some people are trying to stay at home and notify their relatives outside the country.
Others in another part of the city told me they had experienced power outages and had been without power since the explosions overnight, so they had little information.
The main TV channel for those in power shows government supporters insisting President Maduro has been kidnapped and are waiting for his release.
Anyone who disagrees with this view may not be able to speak, because the law here punishes anyone who supports, requests, or finances any military attack by another state with a 30-year prison sentence.
Maduro declares “state of external turmoil”It’s a national emergency, but we don’t currently know the details of what that might bring.
This may mean suspension of guarantees or free movement; Something similar happened with the Caracazo riots in the 1980s.
For now, the authorities haven’t told us we can’t leave our homes, and for the Venezuelan people, every hour ahead is a long day.
People here have become accustomed to having to queue for things and internal political strife over the years, and the government here has been preparing for weeks for a potential U.S. attack.
Even after Events in the Caribbean in recent weeksMaduro suddenly appeared at various public events – I went to see him and you could easily walk very close to the stage where he was speaking.
He also participated in demonstrations and spent Christmas Day visiting some slums and dancing with people on the streets.
This has made the last few weeks feel pretty normal, in a way.
However, what happened last night is completely new for the Venezuelan people.
As told to Ewan Somerville
