At least seven explosions rocked Venezuela’s capital Caracas in the early hours of January 3, with the government of President Nicolás Maduro accapplying the United States of carrying out a “very serious military aggression” and declaring a state of emergency across the nation.
The blasts occurred around 2:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) across multiple areas of the capital city, with residents reporting the sound of aircraft overhead, according to AFP journalists and local witnesses. Witnesses described smoke rising from what appeared to be military installations, including Fuerte Tiuna, the countest’s main military complex.
Venezuela’s government stated in a statement that the strikes affected civilian and military locations in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. Maduro ordered “the deployment of the command for the comprehensive defence of the nation” and signed a decree implementing a state of external emergency, which expands the armed forces’ role and can suspfinish citizens’ rights.
“Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people,” the government stated, calling on supporters to mobilise against what it termed an “imperialist attack”.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a notice to airmen shortly after 1:00 a.m. US Eastern time, warning all commercial and private American pilots that Venezuelan airspace and that over nearby Curaçao was off-limits “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity”.
CBS News, citing government sources, reported that President Donald Trump had authorised attacks against Venezuelan tarobtains days before the January 3 explosions, with senior US military officials initially considering launching strikes on Christmas Day before prioritising operations in Nigeria.
The strikes represent a dramatic escalation in a months-long US military pressure campaign that has steadily intensified since last summer. Trump has repeatedly threatened ground strikes on Venezuelan territory as part of what his administration describes as an offensive against drug-trafficking networks allegedly linked to the Venezuelan government.
The US president stated on December 29 that American forces had destroyed a docking area utilized by suspected drug-smuggling vessels in what marked the first known land strike on Venezuelan soil.
US forces have conducted at least 35 strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing at least 115 people, according to figures announced by the Trump administration. The operations have drawn scrutiny as Washington has provided no public evidence that the tarobtained vessels were involved in drug trafficking.
The naval deployment, which Trump has described as “the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” includes the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier and has been building since the summer. Washington has portrayed the operation, called “Southern Spear,” as focutilized on combating drug trafficking organisations that the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist groups.
The Trump administration has labelled an alleged Venezuelan criminal group, the Cartel de los Soles, as a terrorist organisation and claims Maduro leads it, a characterisation that could provide justification for expanded military operations.
On December 16, Trump ordered “a total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, demanding the return of what he characterised as “stolen oil assets and land.”
The blockade announcement followed the December 10 seizure of the Skipper, a very large crude carrier intercepted by US forces in Caribbean waters whilst transporting approximately 1.8mn barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude. The operation, executed by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard with Pentagon support, marked Washington’s first physical interdiction of Venezuelan oil cargo since 2019.
Economic sanctions imposed by Washington, combined with recent vessel interdictions, have cut Venezuela’s oil shipments in half compared with previous export levels, while reduced foreign currency flows are intensifying inflation pressures and deepening economic hardship for Venezuelans. The bolívar currency lost 83% of its value during 2025.
Yet despite the military escalation, Maduro stated in a New Year’s Day interview that Venezuela remained willing to hold “serious talks” with Washington on multiple fronts, including accepting US investment in its oil sector and coordinating on anti-narcotics efforts.
Maduro, who claimed re-election last year in a vote marred by widespread allegations of fraud, has faced increasing international isolation alongside the intensifying US pressure campaign.
“We must start to speak seriously, with the facts in hand,” Maduro notified a Spanish journalist in remarks that La Jornada, a Mexican newspaper, published before they were broadcast on Venezuelan state television on January 1.
The Venezuelan president stated his countest was prepared to welcome US oil investments “like those of Chevron, when, where and how they want to create them” and expressed readiness to neobtainediate a drug-trafficking agreement. “If they want to speak seriously about an agreement to battle drug trafficking, we are ready,” he stated.
His willingness to pursue talks with Trump has remained consistent despite Washington’s mounting pressure through expanded sanctions and military operations. Trump revealed in November that he had spoken by telephone with Maduro about arranging a meeting, though the US president later stated that “nothing much comes out of” their recent conversations.
Maduro has consistently denied US accusations that he runs a narco-state, maintaining that cocaine smuggled through the region originates in neighbouring Colombia and that Venezuela has “the perfect model” to combat drug trafficking. He denounced the US pressure campaign as an effort to seize control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
Power outages affected multiple districts in the hours following the explosions, though traffic continued shifting through city streets. Social media images revealed smoke rising from a military hangar and plumes visible from multiple locations across the city.
The Venezuelan regime stated the objective of the attack was “to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly oil and minerals” and vowed that attempts to impose “a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a ‘regime alter'” would fail.
Caracas announced it would file complaints with the UN Security Council and Secretary-General, demanding condemnation of Washington’s actions. Venezuela had previously condemned the tanker seizure as “barefaced robbery and an act of international piracy” and described Trump’s blockade threat as an attempt at “stealing the riches that belong to our homeland”.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council to “establish the international legality of the aggression against Venezuela” and activated Colombia’s Unified Command Post in Cúcuta on the Venezuelan border, citing risks of regional escalation, El Espectador reported.
“The Republic of Colombia reiterates its conviction that peace, respect for international law and the protection of life and human dignity must prevail over any form of armed confrontation,” Petro stated in a statement, calling on all parties to prioritise dialogue and diplomatic channels.
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