Caracas, Venezuela - President Donald Trump reportedly ordered airstrikes on civilian and military targets in Venezuela overnight Saturday, marking a major escalation in his campaign against the Latin American country.

A series of explosions hit the Venezuelan capital Caracas, with TV and social media footage showing bright flashes and clouds of smoke in several locations.

Sounds resembling aircraft flyovers were heard in Caracas around 2:00 AM local time on Saturday, an AFP journalist reported.

CBS News cited unnamed US officials who saying that Trump had personally authorized the attacks before Christmas, but they were postponed due separate military activities conducted in Nigeria.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of an emergency over what he called an "extremely serious military aggression."

"Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people," his government said.

It called for "all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack."

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro also responded, calling for an urgent meeting of the Organization of American States and the UN.

"Caracas is currently being bombed... Venezuela has been attacked," he wrote on X.

As of 4:30 AM, four sites in and around Caracas had been hit, according to CBS. The FAA also announced it was stopping commercial flights over Venezuela due to "ongoing military activity."

Trump has been ramping up military pressure on Venezuela since taking office for his second term last year. Under the guise of fighting the illegal drug trade, his administration has built up military forces in the Caribbean, imposed a partial blockade, seized oil tankers, and threatened all-out war to topple Maduro.

The Republican on Monday claimed the US had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged drug boats, amid a months-long campaign of bombing vessels in international waters.

Over 100 people have been killed in what experts have described as illegal extrajudicial execution carried out at the direction of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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For his part, Maduro – whom the US accuses without evidence of personally leading a drug cartel – said he was willing to negotiate with the Trump administration, who he accused of trying to secure his country's natural resources.

Venezuela has the world's largest confirmed oil reserves.

A panel of UN experts recently said the US is carrying out acts of "illegal armed aggression" against Venezuela.