By Stefano Pozzebon, Osmary Hernandez and Mary Triny Mena, CNN

Caracas (CNN) — A CNN team witnessed several explosions early Saturday in Caracas, and reported that some areas of the city were without electricity.

The first blast was recorded at approximately 1.50am local time (0.50aET).

“One was so strong, my window was shaking after it,” CNNE correspondent Osmary Hernandez said.

Several areas of the city were without power and CNN journalists in the Venezuelan capital could hear sound of aircraft after the explosions.

The cause of the explosions was unclear.

One video obtained and verified by CNN showed two plumes of smoke rising into the night sky amid city lights. An orange glow can be seen at the base of one of the plumes. Then a flash in another location is briefly seen, followed by a dull booming sound.

Venezuelan news outlets Efecto Cocuyo and Tal Cual Digital reported explosions were also heard in La Guaira state north of Caracas and on the country’s coast, and at Higuerote a city on the coast in Miranda state.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that the US is preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela and that strikes on land will start “soon.”

In October, Trump said that he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to clamp down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs from the South American nation.

CNN has reached out to the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Alejandra Jaramillo and Isaac Yee contributed to this report

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Por Osmary Hernández y Triny Mena, CNN en Español

Un equipo de CNN presenció varias explosiones la madrugada del sábado en Caracas y reportó que algunas zonas de la ciudad estaban sin electricidad.

La primera explosión fue registrada aproximadamente a la 1:50 a.m., hora local, (0:50 a.m., hora de Miami.

“Una fue tan fuerte que mi ventana tembló después de ella”, dijo la corresponsal de CNN en Español, Osmary Hernandez.

Varias zonas de la ciudad estaban sin energía eléctrica y los periodistas de CNN en la capital venezolana pudieron escuchar el sonido de aeronaves después de las explosiones.

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ha advertido en repetidas ocasiones que su país se está preparando para tomar nuevas medidas contra las presuntas redes de tráfico de drogas en Venezuela y que los ataques terrestres comenzarán “pronto”.

En octubre, Trump dijo que autorizó a la CIA a operar dentro de Venezuela para reprimir los flujos ilegales de migrantes y drogas procedentes de la nación sudamericana.

CNN se ha puesto en contacto con la Casa Blanca para obtener comentarios.

Esta es una noticia en desarrollo y se actualizará.

Alejandra Jaramillo contribuyó a este informe.

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Por Michael Williams, CNN

El compositor de “Wicked”, Stephen Schwartz, dice que no aparecerá en el Kennedy Center después de que su junta directiva votara para añadir el nombre del presidente Donald Trump al recinto, convirtiéndose en el último artista en rechazar la toma de control del centro de artes escénicas más icónico de Washington por parte del presidente.

El compositor, ganador de premios Oscar y Grammy, dijo en un comunicado: “El Kennedy Center fue fundado para ser un hogar apolítico para artistas de todas las nacionalidades e ideologías. Ya no es apolítico, y presentarse allí se ha convertido en una declaración ideológica. Mientras eso siga siendo así, no apareceré allí”.

El sitio web del centro había anunciado la participación de Schwartz en una gala con la Washington National Opera en mayo, e incluía un enlace para comprar entradas para la función, pero fue eliminado del sitio web el viernes por la tarde.

A pesar de que el sitio web anunciaba la próxima aparición de Schwartz, Richard Grenell, presidente de la junta directiva del centro, negó que alguna vez se hubiera concretado su participación.

“Nunca se firmó y nunca he tenido una sola conversación sobre él desde que llegué”, dijo Grenell en una publicación en X, calificando los informes sobre la cancelación de Schwartz como “totalmente falsos”.

“Él mismo dijo el pasado febrero que no había escuchado nada al respecto”, añadió Grenell.

Un portavoz de Schwartz dijo que el compositor y una persona asociada con la Washington National Opera habían estado en comunicación sobre su “posible participación” en una gala de mayo, y que la última vez que hablaron fue en febrero de 2025.

“Al no haber recibido más información después de ese momento, asumió —incorrectamente, como resultó— que el evento ya no seguiría adelante”, dijo el portavoz, Michael Cole, en un correo electrónico a CNN. Cole agregó que Schwartz solo se enteró la noche del jueves que el evento seguía programado.

El Kennedy Center abrió en 1971, designado por el Congreso como un monumento viviente al presidente John F. Kennedy, asesinado. Schwartz asistió a la inauguración del centro.

Pero una serie de artistas han cancelado sus presentaciones desde que Trump destituyó a la junta existente del centro e instaló a un grupo de leales para supervisar el recinto el año pasado. Desde entonces, el centro ha reducido personal y reevaluado su programación.

Más artistas cancelaron después de que la nueva junta votara el mes pasado para renombrar el centro como “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts”, lo que provocó amenazas de acciones legales por parte del Kennedy Center contra algunos de esos artistas.

La medida generó rápidamente preocupaciones legales sobre si la junta tenía la autoridad legal para cambiar el nombre de la institución artística. Sin embargo, no está claro si alguien que quiera impugnar el cambio de nombre tendría legitimidad legal para hacerlo, dijeron anteriormente expertos a CNN.

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By Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — Thousands of people gathered for a New Year’s Eve celebration in Seattle this week to anticipate the annual fireworks show at one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, when a man stopped on a lawn and opened his coat to reveal a loaded shotgun, police said, alarming witnesses and an officer nearby.

The man flashed his weapon in the densely populated and well-lit area overlooking the Space Needle observation tower, wearing all black clothing with a red hat branded with the word “WAR.” Moments later, officers detained him and discovered he was also carrying a pistol and multiple rounds of ammunition, Seattle police said.

Marcos Campos Lezama, 21, was taken into custody just after 7 p.m. Wednesday without incident and charged with unlawful use of weapons to intimidate, a misdemeanor offense, court documents show. His bail was set at $10,000 and he’s being held at the King County Correctional Facility, the documents say.

Lezama made a court appearance Friday and pleaded not guilty, court documents show. CNN has not been able to determine if he has an attorney.

Lezama, who had a valid concealed carry permit, held a shotgun loaded with a combination of projectiles typically seen by people who are planning to fire a shotgun at varying ranges “and/or when anticipating using shotguns against people with armor or using cover,” according to the police report.

What also concerned police was foam hearing protection in his pockets with the additional projectiles, which “is extremely uncommon with suspects possessing firearms” and led police to believe he planned to use the firearms he brought to the event, the police report said.

In the report, police referenced threats across the nation to New Year’s Eve celebrations, citing the New Orleans terror attack last year and two weeks ago, a separate incident in Los Angeles which led to the arrest of four people for allegedly working together on a bomb plot set to take place around the city on New Year’s Eve.

After Lezama’s arrest, detectives in the city’s criminal intelligence unit responded to assist patrol officers, and located his car nearby, police said. The agency’s arson bomb squad “swept the car for potential weapons or explosives, finding none,” the agency added.

CNN has contacted the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, which filed the charges against Lezama, but did not immediately receive a response.

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By Clay Voytek, CNN

(CNN) — The US Coast Guard announced Friday night it has suspended its search for people in the water after US strikes on alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean earlier this week.

The US military on Tuesday said it struck a “convoy” of three drug-trafficking boats in international waters, killing three people aboard one boat while those in the other two abandoned their vessel.

US Southern Command previously said it notified the Coast Guard after Tuesday’s strike to activate search and rescue efforts, but it did not say where the strike took place.

The Coast Guard said in a news release Friday that it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts about 400 nautical miles southwest of the Mexico-Guatemala border, but “available assets were extremely limited due to distance and range constraints.”

“Suspending a search is never easy and given the exhaustive search effort, lack of positive indications and declining probability of survival, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments,” Coast Guard Capt. Patrick Dill said in the release. “At this stage of the response, the likelihood of a successful outcome, based on elapsed time, environmental conditions, and available resources for a person in the water is very low.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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