Powerful explosions were heard in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday morning, along with sounds resembling military aircraft raids, reports an AFP journalist, writes LETA citing AFP.
Explosions occurred around 2:00 AM (8:00 AM Latvian time).
Caracas was shaken after U.S. President Donald Trump, who deployed naval forces in the Caribbean Sea, suggested the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela.
On Monday, Trump stated that the U.S. destroyed a dock that was used for loading vessels of Venezuelan drug traffickers.
Trump did not specify whether it was an operation by the military or the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He also did not disclose where exactly the strike took place, only adding that it occurred on the coast.
If such a strike did indeed take place, it would be the first known U.S. strike against Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro neither confirmed nor denied Monday's strike, but on Thursday he expressed readiness to cooperate with Washington after a week of military pressure from the U.S.
The Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading a drug cartel and claims that Washington is fighting against smuggling; however, Maduro denies any involvement in drug trafficking and insists that Washington is trying to oust him because Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
Washington has intensified pressure on Caracas by unofficially closing Venezuelan airspace, imposing new sanctions, and ordering the confiscation of tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.
For several weeks, Trump has threatened ground strikes against drug cartels in the region, stating that they would begin "soon," and Monday was the first apparent example.
U.S. armed forces have carried out numerous strikes against vessels in both the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since September, acting against what Washington claims are drug traffickers.
However, the U.S. administration has not presented any evidence that these vessels were involved in drug trafficking, raising questions about the legality of these operations.
Experts in international law and human rights organizations point out that these strikes appear to be extrajudicial executions. Washington denies this.
According to information released by the U.S. military, at least 107 people have been killed in at least 30 strikes during the deadly maritime campaign.
Leave a comment