'The explosions keep going' - how air strikes paved the way for US Maduro raid

For those still awake in the dead of night in Caracas, the first sign that something was amiss was the low rumble of aircraft approaching Venezuela’s sprawling capital.

Above them, at around 01:55 local time (05:55 GMT) on 3 January, dozens of US aircraft were approaching the city under darkness, highlighted only by a full moon.

Moments later, flames and thunderous explosions broke out around the city. One of America’s most audacious military operations was under way.

For months, Venezuelans had lived under the shadow of a growing US military threat, as jets flew up and down the coast.

But text messages exchanged between two locals that night and shared with BBC Mundo show their shock at being awoken by rolling air strikes.

Justin Crump, CEO of the risk consultancy Sibylline and an ex-British army officer, said US forces may have also wanted to confuse Venezuelan forces and delay any response.

The port of La Guaira - the country’s second largest container terminal - was heavily targeted.

Venezuelan officials have said at least 100 people were killed in the operation, including at least 23 military personnel.

Rosa González - a 80-year-old civilian woman - was killed in her apartment in Catia La Mar when US strikes blew out the exterior wall of the three-story building near Caracas airport.

A 45-year-old woman was also reportedly killed in the El Volcán area, south east of Caracas.

Hours later US President Donald Trump appeared surrounded by military commanders and top advisers at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He said that cutting electricity to the city enabled the devastating strikes that followed.

Unusually, the strikes appear to have taken place under a full moon, with US officials saying the weather broke “just enough” to allow the operation to take place.

NR Jetzen Jones, director of private intelligence company ARES, said Western forces prefer to conduct these sorts of raids in total darkness.

He said it “strongly suggests that the timing of the raid was dictated by other factors, most likely access to the target”.

Analysts who spoke to BBC Verify said the blasts were almost certainly designed to wipe out Venezuela’s air defence systems.

Venezuela had spent billions on Russian-made systems, but verified images show the smouldering remains of launchers. At Higuerote Airport one image showed the shredded hulk of what is alleged to be a Buk-M2E SAM system.

As the attack began, President Nicolás Maduro was sheltering with his wife, Cilia Flores. The socialist leader had been rotating his location for months.

But a small CIA team had been inserted into Caracas months earlier. The officers monitored how Maduro “moved, where he lived, where he travelled, what he ate [and] what he wore” US Joint Chiefs chair, Gen Dan Caine, said.

At around 01:58, verified footage showed three helicopters - including one Chinook widely used by the US military - were filmed approaching the base. Multiple fires can be seen in the clip.

Three other clips reviewed by BBC Verify showed an attack helicopter opening fire on a target on the ground near the base.