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Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, was hit by at least seven explosions on Saturday, with residents reporting aircraft flying over the city and multiple areas experiencing power outages.
The Venezuelan government accused the US of striking civilian and military targets and said it rejected Washington’s “military aggression”.
It also declared “a state of external disturbance” and called on “all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilisation plans and repudiate this imperialist attack”.
The blasts come as the US steps up pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s regime, though there was no immediate confirmation from the Trump administration of US military involvement.
On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration banned US commercial flights in Venezuelan airspace because of “ongoing military activity”.
Washington has in recent weeks unveiled sanctions intended to squeeze Maduro and this week Trump declared a “total blockade” on US-sanctioned oil tankers heading to and from Venezuela.
The US president has not ruled out a military ground operation in Venezuela as part of his campaign to disable the country’s alleged drugs-exporting operations and push Maduro to step down.
Maduro, who has been designated by the Trump administration as the head of a “foreign terrorist” drug cartel, has described the US naval build-up in the Caribbean as a pretext for his ousting.
Late last month, the US carried out an attack on a “dock area” in Venezuela.
Washington said it has carried out 29 strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 105 people since September. The US carried out its two most recent attacks on boats on December 22.
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