- Venezuela accused the United States of carrying out military strikes on civilian and military sites in Caracas and several states, and called for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting.
- Explosions were heard in Caracas as regional leaders, including Colombia and Cuba, publicly condemned the reported attacks while Washington issued no immediate confirmation.
Venezuela accused the United States of carrying out a “very serious military aggression” early Saturday, after explosions were reported in Caracas and surrounding regions, according to an official government statement.
In a statement released in the early hours, the Venezuelan government said it “repudiates and denounces to the international community the very serious military aggression” by the U.S. government. The statement said the strikes targeted both civilian and military sites in Caracas as well as in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.
The government said it would defend the country against what it described as apparent strikes and accused Washington of seeking regime change. “The whole country must be active to defeat this imperialist aggression,” the statement said, calling for an immediate meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Explosions were heard in Caracas at about 1:50 a.m. local time on Saturday, according to reporters from CNN who were in the city. The cause of the explosions was not immediately clear, and there was no confirmation from U.S. officials at the time of publication detailing targets or weapons used.
Regional leaders reacted publicly as reports of the explosions spread. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that Caracas was under attack and urged international bodies to convene. “Right now they are bombing Caracas. Alert the world, they have attacked Venezuela,” Petro wrote shortly after 2 a.m. local time in Colombia. He later added, “They are bombing with missiles. The OAS (Organization of American States) and the UN must meet immediately.”
Petro did not specify how he knew the bombing had occurred and did not identify who he meant by “they.” Colombia is one hour behind Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
Cuba’s leadership also issued a public response. President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said in a social media post that his country denounced what he described as “the criminal attack by the U.S.” on Venezuela. He called for urgent condemnation from the international community for what he labeled “State terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America,” using that wording verbatim.