Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday, January 3, warned the World after suspected US airstrikes in Venezuela's capital Caracas in the early hours today. According to reports, US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities.
Petro argues that the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of American States (OAS) to meet immediately as "they have attacked Venezuela with missiles.”
Colombian President in a post on X said, "Right now they are bombing Caracas. Alert to the whole world, they have attacked Venezuela. They are bombing with missiles. The OAS and the UN must meet immediately."
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has declared a state of emergency, calling on people to mobilise to "defeat this imperialist aggression." amid US airstrikes on Caracas. His statement comes as at least seven explosions, including gunfire, were heard across the city.
Maduro in its latest X post stated, "The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the grave military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and its population in the civilian and military areas of Caracas, the capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira."
Also Read | Venezuela: Multiple Explosions in Caracas; Suspected Fighter Jets Spotted (Watch Videos).
He termed the act as international law violations of the "Charter of the United Nations, especially Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of states, and the prohibition of the use of force. "
He said such aggression of US threat to international "peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people at grave risk."
Maduro alleged that the attack is to seize resources in Venezuela such as oil and minerals. He said it is an attempt to "forcibly break the nation's political independence. They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate government stand firm in defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny."
"The attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a "regime change," in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail, as all previous attempts have." he added.