Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of external commotion throughout the country after denouncing a “military “aggression perpetrated by the current US government.” United” early Saturday morning in Caracas and the nearby states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

In a statement, the Executive Branch reported that the Head of State “has signed and ordered the implementation of the decree declaring a state of external commotion,” in order to “protect the rights of the population, the full functioning of republican institutions, and to immediately transition to armed struggle.”