(José Niño, Headline USA) On Sunday, President Nicolás Maduro announced that Venezuela has captured alleged mercenaries with CIA ties, accusing the United States and Trinidad and Tobago of coordinating military exercises designed to provoke armed conflict in the Caribbean.
In a statement from Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the socialist government described what it called a “false-flag operation” planned from waters near Trinidad and Tobago “to generate a full-scale military confrontation” against Venezuela, the Miami Herald reported.
The announcement coincides with President Donald Trump’s unprecedented military buildup in the Caribbean to combat drug cartels. The administration has hinted at possible ground incursions into Venezuela targeting the Cartel de los Soles, a narco-trafficking organization the United States alleges is led by Maduro himself.
Caracas also linked the supposed plot to military drills it claims Trinidad and Tobago is conducting this week “under the coordination, financing, and control” of U.S. Southern Command, calling them “a hostile provocation and a grave threat to the peace of the Caribbean.”
The statement accused Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of having “renounced the sovereignty” of her country to become a “military colony subordinated to U.S. hegemonic interests.”
“By aligning herself with Washington’s militarist agenda, Persad-Bissessar not only seeks to attack Venezuela and break our historical bonds of brotherhood, but also violates the United Nations Charter, the CELAC declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, and the principles of CARICOM,” the statement read.
The Maduro government claimed the alleged maneuvers aim to “turn the Caribbean into a space for lethal violence and U.S. imperial domination.”
Venezuela compared the alleged plot to historical incidents like the 1898 USS Maine explosion in Cuba and the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident near Vietnam—both preceding major U.S. military interventions. The government accused Washington of seeking “a pretext for war” in the region.
Maduro warned that Venezuela “does not accept threats” and said its armed forces would remain “alert and mobilized in perfect civil-military-police unity.”
“Our Republic, heir of Bolívar and Chávez, will always defend its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and its right to live in peace against foreign enemies and their vassals,” the statement concluded.
These accusations emerge amid deteriorating U.S.-Venezuela relations following Trump’s deployment of the largest American military presence the Caribbean has seen in decades. The task force has launched deadly strikes against boats allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela, killing at least 43 people.
The Pentagon has deployed nearly 10,000 troops over two months—most based in Puerto Rico—along with Marines aboard amphibious assault ships. The U.S. Navy has positioned at least 10 warships and a submarine in the region, and last week Trump directed the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, into Caribbean waters.
Trump has also indicated the U.S. is considering ground operations, while his administration has quietly expanded CIA powers to conduct covert activities in Venezuela.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
