The United States launched a military attack on Venezuela on Saturday and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, who has since been flown out of the country, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday.
Venezuela’s capital Caracas, along with the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, were reportedly attacked, the Venezuelan government said in a statement.
At least seven explosions were reported and low-flying planes were heard in the capital around 2am (local time) on Saturday.
The strike follows US accusations that Maduro turned Venezuela into a “narco-state” and rigged elections. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan leader who replaced Hugo Chávez in power in 2013 countered that Washington’s real goal is to control Venezuela’s huge oil reserves, the largest in the world, Reuters wrote.
Several world leaders and politicians reacted to the news, with some condemning the attack and expressing concern over the rising tensions.
The Cuban president condemns the attack
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez strongly condemned the US attack on social media, calling it a “criminal attack” against Venezuela and calling on the international community to respond quickly.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Diaz-Canel said the so-called “zone of peace” in Cuba is being “brutally attacked,” describing Washington’s attack as “state terrorism” aimed not only at the Venezuelan people, but at “Our America” as a whole.
He closed the statement with the revolutionary slogan: “Motherland or death, we will prevail”.
Iran is also opposing an attack on Venezuela
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also reacted sharply to the explosions that rocked the capital of Venezuela.
According to AFP, the ministry said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and the flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Iranian statement was reportedly released ahead of Donald Trump’s Truth Social post, which confirmed that the US had launched a “large-scale attack” on Venezuela.
Colombian president reacts to strikes
“The Colombian government rejects aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on the X social network.
“The Republic of Colombia reiterates its belief that peace, respect for international law and the protection of life and human dignity must prevail over any form of armed conflict,” Petro said in another tweet.
The Italian Prime Minister reacts to the attack
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni’s office said on Saturday it was “closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela” in order to “gather information about our fellow citizens” in the country.
Meloni also added that she is in constant contact with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. About 160,000 Italians currently live in Venezuela, most of them with dual citizenship, Reuters reported.
Spain offers to mediate a “peaceful solution” in Venezuela.
Spain offered on Saturday to mediate the crisis between the United States and Venezuela following the US attacks on Caracas and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown out of his country.
“Spain calls for de-escalation and restraint,” the foreign ministry said, according to AFP, adding that “in this regard… it is ready to offer its good services to achieve a peaceful, negotiated solution to the current crisis.”
A US senator talks about the attack
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said the U.S. had no national interests in Venezuela that could justify going to war.
“We have no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war. We should have learned not to run into another stupid adventure. And he doesn’t even bother to tell the American public what the hell is going on,” he said in X.
Fellow Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego also condemned the war, saying, “This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that in less than one year we’ve become a world bully. There’s no reason we should be at war with Venezuela.”
