What has happened is what most of us here want

The whole world was sleeping when the explosions began.

- Eric Martinez, a musician in Caracas, spoke to Gary Cansell

It was 2am. I thought a thief had entered the house but the windows were shaking. Five minutes later I heard another explosion. We're used to Christmas fireworks but these were stronger and deeper. Everything shook. Then I heard gunfire. I messaged friends on WhatsApp. They said they heard it too. Then I smelled smoke - like after a fire, but like nothing I've known.

My house is 5km from La Carlota, a military base. For about 45 minutes I heard explosions and then normality. Complete calm. I didn’t know if it was an invasion, a coup d'etat, a collaboration between the government and the US. There’s so much uncertainty here.