CARACAS – The Venezuelan capital awoke to a state of profound uncertainty Saturday following a dramatic overnight military intervention by the United States. President Donald Trump announced a large-scale offensive that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, an operation witnessed by residents near a key military airbase.
Local resident Vanessa Silva described being jolted awake around 2 a.m. by a massive explosion that shook her home in southeastern Caracas. From her window, she observed flames erupting across the runway at the adjacent military installation, though no personnel were visible in the immediate aftermath. The night sky was subsequently illuminated by repeated orange flashes and the resonant roar of aircraft circling the valley.
The morning brought an eerie calm to the streets of Baruta Municipality, where Silva resides. While queues formed outside petrol stations and supermarkets—a familiar sight in economically strained Venezuela—public transportation remained conspicuously absent. A pharmacy served customers through closed doors, potentially rationing supplies, while many residents opted to remain indoors, urgently contacting relatives abroad amid the crisis.
Information blackouts compounded the tension, with residents in parts of the city reporting electricity failures since the nighttime explosions, leaving them isolated from developments. For those with power, state television featured government loyalists decrying Maduro’s capture as an illegal kidnapping and demanding his immediate release.
The government has invoked a “state of external commotion,” declaring a national emergency that potentially suspends constitutional guarantees and freedom of movement—reminiscent of measures taken during the Caracazo riots of the 1980s. Venezuelan law imposes severe penalties, including 30-year prison sentences, for those supporting foreign military aggression.
The strike represents an unprecedented escalation in the long-standing tensions between Washington and Caracas. Despite recent incidents in the Caribbean and weeks of speculation about potential U.S. action, Maduro had maintained a visible public presence, including Christmas visits to slums and public demonstrations, creating an illusion of normalcy that was shattered by Friday night’s events.