United States Carries Out Airstrikes on Caracas, Venezuela’s Capital [VIDEO]

Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, shook Caracas around 2:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday.

The blasts follow US President Donald Trump’s deployment of a navy task force to the Caribbean and his warnings about possible ground strikes against Venezuela.

Explosions continued to be heard around 2:15 am, though the exact locations remained unclear.

On Monday, Trump stated that the United States had targeted and destroyed a docking area used by alleged Venezuelan drug boats.

He did not clarify whether the strike was carried out by the military or the CIA, or specify its exact location, noting only that it occurred “along the shore.” If verified, this would mark the first known ground strike on Venezuelan territory.

President Nicolás Maduro has neither confirmed nor denied Monday’s strike but indicated on Thursday that he remains open to cooperation with Washington, following weeks of US pressure.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel, though the Venezuelan leader denies any involvement in narcotics and claims the United States aims to overthrow him due to Venezuela’s massive oil reserves.

Pressure from Washington has intensified, with airspace restrictions, new sanctions, and tanker seizures among the measures targeting Venezuela.

Trump has repeatedly threatened ground strikes on regional drug cartels, and Monday’s attack appears to be the first example of action on these warnings.

Since September, US forces have also conducted numerous strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, targeting alleged drug trafficking operations.

The administration, however, has not provided proof of the boats’ involvement, raising questions about the legality of these operations.

According to US military reports, the campaign has killed at least 107 people across 30 strikes.

The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.