The AP photograph of 21‑year‑old Mariana Camargo running through eastern Caracas during pre‑dawn explosions became a globally shared image linked to apparent U.S.-related strikes. AP photographer Matías Delacroix captured Camargo's fear as people fled the blasts; the photo spread across front pages and social media. Friends recognized Camargo, turning the image into jokes and memes even as she says the panic from that night lingers. She later contacted Delacroix and they met again at the site where the photo was taken.
Behind the Photo: How a Viral Image of a Woman Fleeing Pre‑Dawn Explosions Captured Caracas' Night of Panic
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — At 2:05 a.m., explosions shattered the pre‑dawn calm over eastern Caracas, and 21‑year‑old Mariana Camargo sprinted through the streets as others scattered around her.
Associated Press photographer Matías Delacroix, jolted awake by the blasts, grabbed his camera and ran outside. He made one of the first images linked to the apparent U.S.-related strikes — a photograph that would quickly circulate across front pages and social media.
Days later, amid conflicting reports about Venezuela's political leadership, Camargo and Delacroix returned to the same stretch of road and paused where the iconic image had been taken.
'A woman arrived in a big truck and she screeched to a stop and said, 'kids what are you doing here, go home they’re bombing!' We were like nine people and we were like, 'Well, let’s run.' We started to run and passed by here,' Camargo recalled.
The photograph shows Camargo in a white shirt and jeans, sprinting with her phone in hand and fear written across her face, while friends trail behind. Delacroix said he was drawn to the raw emotion of her expression. He had run toward the noise of the strikes with his camera, and in that instant two trajectories crossed — a person fleeing and a photographer moving toward the scene.
'What caught my attention was how you were running, with your cellphone and clearly scared... between the two photos, yours was the one that expressed the most what was happening,' Delacroix told Camargo as they reviewed the images together.
As the image spread worldwide, Camargo's friends recognized her and filled a WhatsApp group with messages. 'Am I tripping or is that Nana Mariana???' one asked — 'Nana' being a common nickname for Mariana — and others replied, turning the picture into jokes, stickers and a meme with the caption 'the gringos have arrived!'
Mariana Camargo poses for a photo in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Camargo said she laughed with her family and friends when she saw the memes, but the memory of that night remains sharp: 'I still see the videos of what happened that day, of the explosions, I hear the sounds and I still feel this sense of panic.'
The day after the strikes, Camargo messaged Delacroix on Instagram to ask whether he had more photographs from the moment. They met on the street a few days later, reviewed the images and parted with a hug.
"Crazy things always happen to me," she said with a laugh. "Of course I end up on the street during a bombing and I go viral. It's nuts."
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Associated Press reporter Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.
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