US strikes follow Chinese envoy's visit to Venezuela? Questions mount after China-backed Caracas hit

As at least seven explosions and power outages hit Caracas in what Venezuela calls U.S. airstrikes, President Nicolás Maduro declares a national emergency and denounces “military aggression” just one day after hosting Xi Jinping’s special envoy Qiu Xiaoqi at Miraflores to review more than 600 China–Venezuela cooperation agreements—moves that underscore how Trump’s campaign of strikes and blockade pressure risks colliding with Beijing’s deepening political backing for Maduro.