Shots fired near Venezuela's presidential palace
What's the story
Shots were fired late Monday near the Miraflores Palace in central Caracas, Venezuela. The incident took place hours after Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in following the ousting of Nicolas Maduro. Per AFP, unidentified drones were spotted flying over the palace around 8:00pm (0000 GMT), prompting security forces to open fire in response.
Resident reports
Eyewitness accounts describe brief but intense gunfire
An eyewitness, who lives five blocks from the palace, described the sound of gunfire as not as loud as in the pre-dawn attack on Saturday that led to Maduro's ousting. "The first thing that came to mind was to see if there were planes flying overhead but there were not. I just saw two red lights in the sky," they said on condition of anonymity.
Online footage
Social media videos capture security forces' response
Videos shared on social media showed what appeared to be tracer bullets being fired into the sky. The footage also showed several members of the security forces rushing to the palace after the shots were fired. However, there was no immediate response from Venezuela's Communications Ministry regarding these incidents. The incident came after US President Donald Trump on Monday warned of a second strike in the country "if they don't behave."
Attack
$50M bounty on Maduro
According to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, some 200 US military forces invaded Venezuela's capital, Caracas, as part of the effort to seize Maduro on Saturday. US forces captured Maduro and his wife over the weekend, bringing an end to 12 years of increasingly authoritarian rule. Washington had accused Maduro of heading a drug gang and issued a $50 million bounty on him. The operation also involved more than 150 military aircraft in various roles, including striking Venezuelan defenses.
Maduro
Maduro, wife plead not guilty
In New York, both Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores entered pleas of not guilty in court on Monday. Maduro insisted that he was "still president of my country" had been illegally "captured" at his Caracas home, and was "a prisoner of war." "I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man," Maduro said in Spanish. Before sitting down, Maduro, shackled at the ankles, told the public gallery, "Happy new year!" in English.