State of emergency declared: Venezuela mobilizes following US airstrikes

Shafaq News– Caracas (Updated at 12:15)

Venezuela on Saturday declared a state of emergency and moved toward armed confrontation, accusing the United States of orchestrating the recent strikes targeting Caracas.

Earlier today, powerful blasts shook the area near the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, sending thick columns of smoke over surrounding neighborhoods. Witnesses cited by Reuters reported partial disruptions to movement in southern Caracas, while a power outage affected an area near the military installation. US military helicopters were also observed operating at low altitude near the blasts.

According to CBS News, a US security official later confirmed that President Donald Trump had authorized the military operation several days before it began.

In a statement on Telegram, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto described the attacks as a blatant violation of United Nations charters, stressing that Venezuela rejects the aggression and warning the government would respond immediately with all available defense measures.

“Any attempt to change the government will fail, as all previous attempts have,” he added, noting that the attacks targeted residential areas and critical infrastructure, striking both civilian and military sites in central Caracas.

Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro urged an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), alerting the international community that “Venezuela is under attack.”

The incident followed months of threats, warnings, and drug-smuggling accusations from Trump toward Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the State Department has designated as the head of a “narco-terrorist” state.

Last week, Trump reported that the United States had “hit” an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, marking the first known instance of Washington conducting land operations inside the country since the pressure campaign began. The Pentagon has also expanded its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying troops, aircraft, and warships. During this period, US forces carried out attacks on numerous small vessels described by officials as being used for drug trafficking, resulting in at least 105 deaths.

Maduro, however, maintained that Venezuela remains open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking, while renewing accusations that Washington seeks to overthrow his government and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves through a sustained campaign of sanctions and military pressure.