Venezuela will resist the presence of foreign troops, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said in a video early on Saturday, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and was being removed from the country.
A U.S. attack on the country in the early morning struck civilian areas, Padrino said, and Venezuela is compiling information about dead and injured people.
Meanwhile, the State Department has warned U.S. citizens in Venezuela to shelter in place early Saturday morning.
In a notice posted on its website, the department said the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, was “aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela.”