This Australian was enjoying a family holiday. Then the explosions began
Alexander and his wife thought Donald Trump was bluffing about plans for Venezuela. Now he’s trying to escape the country
Australian lawyer Alexander and his wife went to bed in Caracas on Friday night blissfully unaware of the events that would, in a matter of hours, force them to plot escapes from Venezuela’s capital.
Alexander – whose name has been changed for his personal security in the country – and his Mexican-Venezuelan wife woke at 2am on Saturday to the noise of jets, uncomfortably close by. The sound reminded Alexander of the planes that would do fly-overs at football matches. Then came a repeated “dull, very profound” sound – it was the city’s airport, less than two kilometres away, being struck and exploding in flames. “It was very obvious what was happening,” he reflected on Saturday night.
A vehicle burns at La Carlota air base in Caracas after a series of explosions.Credit: AFP
Lights in their neighbouring buildings started to turn on, and late-night revellers at the bar opposite stumbled out onto the street. Footage of the explosions circulated on WhatsApp, with residents in other parts of the city reporting losing power and water.
Alexander was frantically refreshing the webpages of CNN and The New York Times, which didn’t have information for almost an hour. “There’s a vacuum of information, largely because all the media that is available in the country is state-run,” he said. “So you can’t tune in to find out what is happening, and international news can only go so far.” The Times later quoted a senior Venezuelan official saying at least 40 Venezuelan military personnel and civilians had died in the attack.
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The situation the couple found themselves in could not have been more different to the life they had been living for the past fortnight. They had arrived in the city to celebrate Christmas and New Year with their family.
In the lead up to the celebrations, “the roads were packed and people were shopping”, he said. “It was completely fine. The airport was fine, customs were fine, everyone was getting ready for Christmas.”
Living in New York City, they’d heard US President Donald Trump’s talk of military action for weeks and dismissed it as bluster, eager to spend the festive season with her family. Their holiday soon fell into a familiar pattern: drive 25 minutes to the beach, rent a palm frond umbrella and chairs for $US10, and relax.
