Loud explosions woke Jewish families in the Venezuelan capital overnight Saturday as U.S. airstrikes targeted areas near Caracas as part of a military operation aimed at detaining President Nicolás Maduro and transferring him to the United States.
Some of the strike sites were located close to Jewish neighborhoods in the capital, home to the majority of Venezuela’s approximately 4,000 Jews. “We heard extremely loud blasts and woke up in the middle of the night,” locals told ynet from Caracas.
US airstrikes across Caracas, Venezuela
(Video: Reuters)
Though Venezuela has not been openly antisemitic, the Jewish community has long viewed the authoritarian Maduro regime as hostile. Many in the community, like much of the broader population, had long awaited Maduro’s downfall.
“The Jews here are very, very happy about what’s happening. Many waited for Maduro to fall and prayed for this day,” said Ze’ev Kirtchuk, former representative of Keren Hayesod in Venezuela and a liaison for the Venezuelan Jewish community in Israel.
Venezuela’s Jewish population once numbered around 30,000 but has steadily declined since communist tyrant Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. Successive waves of emigration have brought the community to its lowest number in modern history.
“The Jews left Venezuela with joy,” Kirtchuk said. “Those who remain are highly organized. There are 18 synagogues, Jewish schools, separate Ashkenazi and Sephardic communal councils and also a joint council. The community is well-structured and has strong ties to Israel, even though Israel does not have an embassy in the country.”
He added that donations to Israeli causes are common, and the community has remained publicly supportive of Israel, including during times of crisis such as after the October 7 Hamas attack.
In recent years, however, the community’s financial capacity has dwindled due to Venezuela’s economic crisis. “This coup happened during Venezuela’s vacation period. Schools are out, and many who could afford it went on holiday to Miami or Aruba,” added Kirtchuk, who personally knew former Chávez—who died in 2013.
“Throughout the night, I was in contact with the Jewish community. People were asleep when it happened, but many said they woke up in a panic because their neighborhoods are close to the sites bombed by the Americans.”
The U.S. operation follows months of threats by President Donald Trump. While officially framed as a crackdown on drug trafficking allegedly supported by the Venezuelan government, Trump has openly stated his central goal was to topple Maduro’s socialist regime, in power since 2013.
Last month, Trump declared Maduro’s days “numbered” and repeatedly hinted that a U.S. strike was imminent. Since returning to the White House, Trump has pursued an assertive foreign policy focused on expanding American influence in Latin America, backing right-wing governments across the continent and targeting Maduro, a longtime ally of U.S. rivals Russia, China and Iran.