Airplanes, loud blasts and at least one column of smoke were reported over Venezuela’s capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday, foreign media outlets reported.
Residents in the southern part of the city, close to a major military base, experienced power outages as the explosions echoed through the area.
The sudden detonations come after US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a naval task force to the Caribbean, raised the prospect of ground operations in Venezuela.
Explosions continued to be heard around 2:15 am, though their precise location remained uncertain.
Earlier this week, Trump announced that US forces had struck and destroyed a docking area allegedly used by Venezuelan drug boats.
The president did not clarify whether the attack was carried out by the military or the CIA, nor did he disclose the exact location, saying only that it occurred “along the shore”. If confirmed, this would mark the first known US land strike on Venezuelan soil.
President Nicolas Maduro has not confirmed or denied Monday’s operation, but told the media on Thursday that he is open to cooperation with Washington after weeks of mounting US military pressure.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and says it is intensifying efforts against narcotics trafficking in the region.
Maduro, however, denies any involvement in drug operations, framing US actions as an attempt to topple his government and seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves – the largest known in the world.
Washington has escalated pressure on Caracas through informal airspace closures, additional sanctions and seizure orders against tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.
For weeks, Trump has warned that ground strikes against drug cartels in the Caribbean would begin “soon”, with Monday’s attack being the first example.
US forces have also conducted numerous strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting vessels that Washington claims are involved in drug smuggling.
The administration is yet to provide evidence linking the targeted boats to narcotics operations, sparking debates over the legality of these operations.
The maritime strikes have proven deadly: according to information released by the US military, at least 107 people have been killed in at least 30 strikes.