The Monroe Doctrine in action: The United States has struck at Venezuela

Explosions have occurred in Venezuela. This became known on Saturday, January 3. According to media reports, military bases and infrastructure facilities were hit. The electricity was cut off in Caracas for a while. The Venezuelan authorities believe that the United States is behind the attacks. This is also claimed by the American media with reference to sources. President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of emergency. Meanwhile, the White House has not yet confirmed its involvement, although less than a month ago, Trump announced "imminent ground strikes" on Venezuela. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the explosions

Explosions have thundered in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters reported, citing eyewitnesses. According to Efecto Cocuyo, military bases were attacked, including Fort Tiuna, where the headquarters of the republic's Ministry of Defense and the army command are located. Strikes were also carried out on the Generalissimo de Miranda airbase and a military airfield.

In total, according to AP, at least seven explosions occurred in Caracas. They thundered at about two o'clock in the morning local time (09:00 Moscow time).

"According to eyewitnesses, planes, loud noises and at least one column of smoke were heard and seen in the Venezuelan capital Caracas early on Saturday morning," Reuters said in a statement.

In addition, according to the agency, there is no electricity in the south of the city, near a large military base.

The planes were flying low, AP reports. The published footage shows CH-47 helicopters in service with the US Army.

According to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, among other things, the Venezuelan parliament building was attacked. In total, according to him, the United States attacked at least 11 facilities.

"The whole earth shook. It's horrible. We could hear explosions and the hum of airplanes in the distance. It felt like the air around us was shaking," a 21-year-old girl told AP.

Venezuelan President Maduro has declared a state of emergency in the country, according to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil. According to him, the United States carried out attacks "with the aim of violently undermining the country's political independence" and seizing Venezuela's resources, in particular oil and minerals.

In turn, according to the NYT, immediately before the strikes, Trump held a security meeting.

According to CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs, Trump ordered strikes against targets inside Venezuela, including military installations. According to Fox News, the White House has confirmed the US strikes on Venezuela.

However, the United States has not yet officially commented on the situation. However, according to CBS, the White House administration is aware of reports of explosions in Caracas. According to The New York Times, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll declined to comment on the possible involvement of the American armed forces in the incident.

The Russian Embassy was not damaged, Russian Ambassador Sergey Melik-Baghdasarov said. There are no organized groups of tourists from Russia in the capital Caracas, said Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of ATOR.

International reaction

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations and the Organization of American States due to the explosions in Venezuela.

"Caracas is under attack right now. Warn the whole world: Venezuela is under attack! They are firing rockets," he wrote on his social media page.

Armored vehicles have appeared on the streets of Caracas, combat vehicles are moving towards the residence of the president of the country, as seen in the footage. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said that, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, Caracas reserves the right to legitimate defense.

Why is the United States being blamed

In mid—December, US President Donald Trump announced imminent ground strikes "not only on Venezuela, but also on bad people who bring drugs and kill people (Americans - Ed.)".

According to Reuters, the United States launched the first ground strike on Venezuela at the end of December 2025. According to Trump, the Americans hit the area where the drug boat loading station is allegedly located. The US president stated this at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"A powerful explosion occurred in the port area where boats with drugs are loaded. We've attacked all the boats, and now we're attacking the area. This is the implementation area. That's where they carried out the implementation, and that area is no more," Trump said.

In 2025, the American president ordered a significant increase in the US military presence in the southern Caribbean. Since September, the Americans have repeatedly attacked ships that, according to the US administration, were involved in drug trafficking. As Trump claimed in late December, billions of dollars worth of drugs were sent to the United States from Venezuela, as well as hundreds of thousands of people, including prisoners, psychiatric patients, drug lords and drug traffickers.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro believes that the United States is using the fight against drug trafficking as an excuse to try to overthrow him.

According to Maduro, so far he has had only one telephone conversation with the current American president. The conversation took place on November 21. As the WSJ later wrote, citing sources, Trump said during a conversation with Maduro that Washington could use force if he did not leave his post voluntarily.

In December, Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going to or from Venezuela. In addition, the American president announced that he had closed the airspace over Venezuela.