The US warship USS Gravely arrived in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, on Sunday, October 28, 2025. Credit: Martin BERNETTI / AFP / Profimedia
Venezuelan authorities said on Monday they had foiled what they described as a plot linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to attack a US warship docked in Trinidad and blame the government in Caracas.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said he had informed the Trinidadian government of the alleged false flag operation.
According to the Venezuelan official, the plot involved attacking a US warship stationed there and blaming Venezuela, “to justify aggression against our country”.
The charge comes a day after Caracas announced it had arrested what it called mercenaries associated with the CIA.
“On our soil, a CIA-funded crime cell linked to this covert operation is being dismantled,” Gil said.
US President Donald Trump had recently announced that he had authorized covert actions in Venezuela and that he was considering launching operations on the territory of the Latin American country.
The announcement was made in the context of the deployment of US forces in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela, during which the US military launched 10 attacks on ships it says were involved in drug trafficking. 43 people were killed in the American operations.
Venezuela maintains that the ultimate goal of the US deployment is to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
The seven US warships in the Caribbean Sea will be joined by the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the largest in the world.
One of those ships, the USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, on Sunday for a four-day visit that includes joint training with local defense forces.
