Overview
- At least seven explosions were reported around 2 a.m. in Caracas with aircraft overhead, outages near a southern military base, and blasts noted at the main airport and La Guaira port.
- Venezuelan officials labeled the action U.S. aggression, imposed a state of emergency, and said potential civilian casualties are being assessed after strikes on sites in several states.
- President Donald Trump said the U.S. conducted a large operation and claimed Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and removed from the country, a statement not independently verified.
- Reporting cited by the Financial Times indicated targets appeared to include military facilities and strategic infrastructure such as cell towers, while Russia’s ambassador said areas near the embassy were not hit.
- In separate Ukraine developments, Russia’s Defense Ministry denied conducting a Jan. 2 strike on Kharkiv, and regional authorities reported mass civilian deaths from a Ukrainian drone attack in Horly with many bodies burned.