Venezuela explosions: Videos show flashes of fire, huge smoke amid reports of low-flying aircraft

The explosions come amid the Trump administration’s escalating military actions in the region

• Explosions and power outages hit Caracas, causing panic and darkness in the city
• President Maduro declared a national emergency and mobilised defense forces
• US military escalates actions, attacking Venezuelan boats

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Panic gripped Venezuela’s capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday (local time) after multiple loud explosions were heard, with low-flying aircraft adding to the alarm. Videos shared on social media platforms showed the exact moment of explosions, triggering power outages in several neighbourhoods.

According to a CNN report, multiple blasts were heard in different parts of the city, with the first explosion occurring at around 1:50 am local time.

The report stated that following the explosions, electricity was cut in several areas of the capital, leaving parts of the city in darkness.

Witnesses from the spot reported hearing aircraft overhead post the explosions. People in various neighbourhoods immediately rushed to the street while many of them took to social media to report hearing and seeing blasts.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, told Associated Press. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Multiple secondary explosions seen, while flames and smoke emanate from the Port of Caracas in Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/R8OJ4CsdHO

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026

The Venezuelan government said attacks also took place in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, prompting Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro to declare a national emergency and mobilise defense forces.

Multiple secondary explosions seen, while flames and smoke emanate from the Port of Caracas in Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/R8OJ4CsdHO — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026

The explosions come amid the Trump administration’s escalating military actions in the region. The US has seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.