After Donald Trump warned of ground strikes, loud explosions were heard in Venezuela, escalating fears of military action

The explosions coincided with US President Donald Trump raising the prospect of ground military action in Venezuela.

Caracas: Loud explosions, which sounded like an airplane flyover, were heard in Caracas at 2:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday, an AFP journalist reported.

The explosions came as US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a naval task force to the Caribbean, raised the possibility of a ground attack on Venezuela.

The explosions were still being heard around 2:15 am, although their exact location was not clear.

Trump said on Monday that the United States had struck and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.

The Republican leader did not say whether it was a military operation or a CIA operation or where the attack took place, noting only that it was “off the coast.”

This attack would be the first known ground assault on Venezuelan soil. President Nicolás Maduro has neither confirmed nor denied Monday’s attack but said on Thursday that he is open to cooperation with Washington after weeks of U.S. military pressure.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of running a drug cartel and says it is cracking down on trafficking, but the leftist leader denies any involvement in the narcotics trade and says Washington wants to remove him because Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Washington has increased pressure on Caracas by informally closing Venezuelan airspace, imposing further sanctions, and ordering the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers.

For several weeks, Trump has been threatening a ground offensive against drug cartels in the region, saying it would begin “soon,” and Monday’s events appear to be the first instance of this.

Since September, the U.S. military has conducted numerous raids on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, targeting individuals Washington identifies as drug traffickers.

However, the administration has provided no evidence that the targeted vessels were involved in drug trafficking, raising questions about the legality of these operations.

According to information released by the U.S. military, at least 107 people have been killed in more than 30 attacks during this dangerous maritime campaign.