Venezuela plunged into turmoil on Monday night as heavy gunfire echoed near the presidential palace in Caracas following the dramatic removal of President Nicolás Maduro from power. Extraordinary footage emerged on social media capturing the sound of a hail of bullets raining down on the capital.
Residents reported hearing ‘anti-aircraft’ blasts in the vicinity of the presidential palace, as chaos engulfed the streets in the days since Maduro and his wife were captured from their home and swiftly transported to America to face drug trafficking charges. The night sky was illuminated by what appeared to be drones and anti-aircraft fire from around 8.15pm local time.
President Donald Trump pledged on Monday to help rebuild Venezuela’s neglected infrastructure, making the startling revelation that it could take up to 18 months before citizens are able to elect a new leader. Trump stated that he would be responsible for ‘nursing’ the nation back to health in the interim.
“We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump said. “No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have — we have to nurse the country back to health.”