Venezuela’s capital Caracas became the center of a sharp military escalation on January 3 (Tashkent time). According to breaking reports from Western news agencies, the Donald Trump administration authorized the use of force against the government of Nicolás Maduro. Early in the morning, a series of powerful explosions was recorded across the city, signaling the start of an active phase by US armed forces. This was reported by upl.uzreports.
Airstrikes were primarily aimed at key points of the country’s defense infrastructure. Reports say strikes hit the strategically important Fort Tiuna base as well as the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base. Information also spread that the La Guaira naval base in Vargas state was targeted—an area that hosts the country’s National Naval Academy. So far, there is confirmed information that at least six locations were hit, while thick columns of black smoke are rising over residential and industrial districts of Caracas.
According to available information, Washington is not limiting itself to stand-off strikes. A ground phase of the operation may also have begun: witnesses say they saw heavy CH-47 Chinook helicopters over the city’s administrative districts, used for rapid deployment of troops and equipment. They are reportedly being supported from the air by AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters used by the Marine Corps are also mentioned, which may indicate the involvement of expeditionary units.
Amid the escalation, Venezuela’s military leadership is said to have ordered Su-30MKV fighter jets into the air. Pilots were tasked with controlling the airspace and stopping US strike groups. However, official agencies in Caracas have not yet commented, and no statement on the situation has been published on the White House’s official pages in Washington either. The situation is developing very rapidly, and the scale of forces involved suggests preparations for a prolonged confrontation.
The La Guaira base reportedly struck today is located near one of the deepest ports in the Caribbean Sea. Historically, since the era of Spanish colonization, it has played a strategic role as Caracas’s main “sea gateway.”
Read “Zamin” on Telegram!
