Latest update:03 Jan 2026 at 9:06 PM IST

A spate of late-night attacks at a pizzeria near the Pentagon sparked an online uproar, as the United States carried out a large-scale military strike on Venezuela.

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While the United States carried out a large-scale military strike in Caracas early Saturday, an unusual late-night rush at a pizzeria near the Pentagon caught the attention of social media users.

A sharp spike in orders was reported at a popular pizzeria near the US military headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the early hours of January 3. Such increases are often closely monitored by online observers, because they are sometimes linked to increased activity inside the Pentagon during major security operations.

The Pentagon Pizza Report account, which tracks traffic at food outlets near the defense complex and posts updates on X, noted the sudden increase.

“Pizzato Pizza, a late-night pizzeria near the Pentagon, suddenly spiked in traffic. As of 2:04 a.m. ET,” the account posted.

The activity reportedly continued for more than an hour. In a later update, the account said the outlet “emptied, reporting essentially no traffic” by 3:44 a.m. ET, after experiencing heavy traffic for about 90 minutes.

Similar late-night rushes have been observed in the past at restaurants near the Pentagon. In June last year, fast food outlets in the region saw a similar spike when Israel was preparing to launch air strikes on Iran as part of Operation Assad.

US strikes and Trump’s announcement

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that the United States had carried out what he described as a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela. Trump said on his platform, Truth Social, that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, were “arrested” and “flown out of the country.”

“This operation was conducted in cooperation with US law enforcement authorities,” Trump wrote, adding that a press conference would be held at Mar-a-Lago at 11 a.m. local time.

Even before Trump’s statement, residents in Caracas reported hearing loud explosions around 2 a.m. local time. Posts on social media showed fires in several parts of the city, while there were reports of a power outage in the southern area near a large military base.

This operation represents Washington’s first direct military intervention in Latin America since 1989, when US forces invaded Panama to oust Manuel Noriega.

Venezuela responds

The Venezuelan government declared a national emergency and strongly condemned the US action. The Maduro administration said in a statement that it “rejects, denounces and condemns before the international community the extremely dangerous military aggression committed by the current government of the United States of America against the Venezuelan territory and people.”

Trump has repeatedly accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel, and has publicly indicated that stepping down would be the wisest choice. When asked last month whether US pressure was meant to force Maduro to step down after 12 years in power, Trump said: “It’s up to him, what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that.”

Agence France-Presse quoted the US President as saying: “If he wants to do something, if he plays hard, this will be the last time he can play hard.”