Photo credit: AP
Venezuela’s government on Saturday accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were reported over the capital, Caracas, around 2 am local time.Following the strikes, President Nicolás Maduro declared a nationwide state of emergency, ordered national defence plans to be implemented and called for ‘mass mobilisation’.
Meanwhile, US officials later told CBS News that President Donald Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, as Washington escalated its campaign against the Maduro government. The strikes followed months of US military buildup in the region, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier and several other warships in the Caribbean. In recent weeks, the United States has seized two oil tankers off Venezuela and launched deadly strikes on more than 30 boats which, according to the US, were carrying drugs.Colombian President Gustavo Petro shared Venezuela’s official statement on X, which said:“The Bolivarian Republic of 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 population in the civilian and military areas of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, particularly its Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition on the use of force. Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and puts the lives of millions of people at grave risk.The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the Nation’s political independence by force. They will not succeed…”
Government accuses US, calls for mobilisation
In an official statement, Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military areas and urged supporters to take to the streets.“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”
Emergency declared as Maduro alleges regime change bid
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington.In a pre-taped interview aired on Thursday, Maduro said the United States wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through a months-long pressure campaign that began with a major US military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States.
Trump threats, blockade and military buildup
Trump had, for months, threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land.The United States has seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others, a move that appeared designed to tighten pressure on the South American country’s economy.The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, there have been 35 known boat strikes and at least 115 people killed, according to figures released by the Trump administration.The strikes followed a major buildup of American forces off South America, including the arrival in November of the US military’s most advanced aircraft carrier, adding thousands of troops to what was already the region’s largest US military presence in generations.Trump had justified the strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and has said the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.(With inputs from AP) Go to Source
