Venezuela condemned what it described as a military provocation by neighboring Trinidad and Tobago, allegedly coordinated with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to trigger a full-scale military confrontation with the country. It also warned of a “false flag attack”.
Venezuela said joint military exercises were taking place in the Caribbean between the US and Trinidad and Tobago, and claimed to have detained a group of mercenaries who had “direct information from a US intelligence agency”.
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said: “A false flag attack is being carried out in the waters bordering Trinidad and Tobago or from the territory of Trinidad or Venezuela to provoke a full military confrontation with our country.
A false flag attack refers to an operation designed to make it appear that another party is responsible.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez issued a statement making the allegation but did not provide further details or evidence.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has previously accused others of false flag operations, including an alleged plot in early October to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caracas.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has previously accused others of carrying out false flag attacks, including an alleged plot in early October to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caracas.
Neither the US State Department nor the CIA were immediately available for comment, according to Reuters.
US attacks on alleged drug ships
Trump has authorized several strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific that his administration says are involved in drug smuggling. On Friday, the Pentagon stepped up its military presence in the Caribbean by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group.
The US military carried out its ninth strike against an alleged smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said claimed three lives, an AFP report said.
The attack followed another Tuesday night in the same area that left two dead, Hegseth said on social media earlier in the day. Unlike the earlier seven US strikes that hit vessels in the Caribbean Sea, these latest attacks occurred in the eastern Pacific.
Hegseth posted a short video on Wednesday showing a small boat carrying several brown packages across the water. After a few seconds, the boat explodes and remains floating motionless, engulfed in flames.
A second video shows another boat driving alongside it before it is hit by an explosion. Subsequent footage shows the packages floating in the water.
(With input from agencies)
