Venezuela on Sunday condemned what it called a military provocation by neighboring Trinidad and Tobago in coordination with the United States Central Intelligence Agency, aimed at provoking an all-out military confrontation with the Latin American nation.
Joint military exercises are currently being held between the US and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, and Venezuela said it had captured a group of mercenaries “with direct information from the US intelligence agency” and whose objective was to carry out a false flag attack in the region.
A false flag attack is an operation when an act is carried out in such a way that another party appears responsible.
“A false flag attack is being carried out in waters bordering Trinidad and Tobago or from Trinidadian or Venezuelan territory to generate an all-out military confrontation with our country,” the Venezuelan government said in the statement.
The statement, issued by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, did not offer further details or evidence of the false flag attack accusations.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump confirmed reports that he authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has made accusations of false flag attacks before, including a plan to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caracas in early October.
The US State Department was not immediately available for comment.
Trump has carried out several attacks against ships in the Caribbean and Pacific that the administration says are trafficking drugs.
The Pentagon intensified its military deployment in the Caribbean this Friday with the deployment of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group.
