Videos show explosions rocking Venezuela as Maduro is captured

Videos on social media appear to show the moment Venezuela’s capital was rocked by airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday: “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.”

One video of the strikes – shared by the New Mexico Democrat Melanie Stansbury – showed plumes of smoke rising into the air, loud bangs and fire falling to the ground. Newsweek could not independently verify the videos.

Stansbury said that the strikes were “illegal,” and called on Congress to “rein him [Trump] in.”

In another video, a woman can be heard shouting in shock as alarms and loud bangs ring out in the background. The video shows balls of fire and smoke in the distance.

The extent of the damage caused by the strikes is not yet clear.

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been escalating for months. Trump first ordered a large-scale U.S. military build-up in the Caribbean and South American waters in August last year, and later issued a blockade of U.S. sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.

Caracas condemned the blockade, framing it as an effort to undermine Venezuelan sovereignty and seize its oil wealth. Maduro also claimed the U.S. operations were a guise to oust him from power.

This is a developing story. More to follow.