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Gunfire in Venezuelan capital Caracas late on Monday and visuals of military’s movement have sparked speculation about what’s happening in the country.
Hours after Vice President Delcy Rodrguez was sworn in as the interim leader, residents of Caracas were shaken by loud gunfire in the vicinity of the Miraflores presidential palace. The visuals of military’s movement in the capital sparked speculation whether a coup was underway against Rodriguez.
Visuals of gunfire as well as the video of military’s movement have been shared by media outlets and users on social media. They could not be immediately verified.
However, a resident and a source in the government confirmed to AFP that there had indeed been gunfire near the presidential palace in Caracas.
Separately, unverifiable accounts on social medial claimed that gunfire lasted for up to 45 minutes.
Reports Bolivarian Army of Venezuela is MOBILIZING https://t.co/SQqeLqtblv pic.twitter.com/xeiGhgD7BH
— RT (@RT_com) January 6, 2026
The speculation of coup was further fuelled by a report by Russian state media that US officials were monitoring the evolving situation in Venezuela, including gunfire in Caracas, and were not involved in the firing.
However, a source close to the government told AFP that the situation was under control and denied a coup was underway.
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View AllUnidentified drones flew over the presidential palace in Caracas and security forces opened fire in response around 8 pm, the source said.
Separately, a witness, who said they lived five blocks from the presidential palace, told AFP that while gunfire was heard, it was not as strong as the fire on Saturday when US special forces personnel had swept into Caracas to capture and whisk away President Nicolas Maduro in helicopters.
“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. Everyone was looking out their windows to see if there was a plane, to see what was happening,” the witness said.
Following Maduro’s ouster, Vice President Rodriguez has taken over as the country’s interim leader. The military has so far publicly backed her. Independent observers have noted that the Venezuelan military largely avoided any confrontation with the invading US personnel. They further said the ease with which the Trump administration appears to have accepted Rodríguez suggests a secret deal that enabled Maduro’s ouster.
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