Venezuela has declared a state of emergency after the US announced the launch of a large-scale attack and the arrest of the country's president, Nicolás Maduro.
According to Venezuelan authorities, the whereabouts of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also reportedly detained, remain unknown.
Vice President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed that there is no information on their whereabouts and that, in accordance with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic, she has temporarily taken over the leadership of the country.
In a telephone conversation with state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Rodríguez demanded immediate proof from the United States that Maduro and Flores are alive. She described the situation as a direct attack on Venezuelan sovereignty, declaring that “they have attacked us, but they will not break us.”
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López denounced an earlier US attack in Caracas, which he said caused explosions in the capital and several other cities in the country. He said authorities were searching for the injured and possible victims.
“This invasion represents the greatest outrage our country has ever experienced, driven by an insatiable greed for our strategic resources,” Padrino López declared in a video posted on social media. He called the attack “filthy and cowardly” and appealed to citizens to remain calm, to avoid, as he put it, “chaos and anarchy.”
"Their words and actions are as deadly as bombs," the Defense Minister added, warning that, despite the attack, Venezuela will not surrender.