U.S. Downplays Alleged Plot Against Venezuelan Embassy After Regime Warns Of False Flag Operation

The U.S. government has declined to comment on allegations by Venezuelan authorities that a local extremist group plotted to attack the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Caracas, reiterating instead that Washington has had no diplomatic presence in Venezuela since 2019.

"In March 2019, the Department of State withdrew all diplomatic personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas and suspended operations," a State Department spokesperson told Europa Press. "All consular services, both routine and emergency, remain suspended until further notice."

The spokesperson added that "the safety of U.S. personnel and citizens abroad is a top priority" and again advised Americans not to travel to Venezuela "under any circumstances." Asked about the alleged plot, the official declined to engage, saying, "We do not comment on diplomatic conversations or disclose details of security procedures."

Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and other senior officials claimed earlier this week that "extremist sectors of the local right" planned to place explosives near the U.S. Embassy compound in Caracas.

Maduro described it as a "false flag operation" aimed at provoking unrest and said his government had alerted U.S. authorities "through a European embassy" so that the information would reach Washington. "It is an embassy that, despite all our differences with the United States, is protected by our government," Maduro said on national television, adding that security around the facility had been reinforced.

Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly and chief government negotiator with Washington, said the warning had been sent through "three different channels" and called the alleged plot "a grave threat." Rodríguez signed his statement as "head of Venezuela's dialogue process with the United States," a designation used by Caracas to signal ongoing backchannel communication despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas has been closed since 2019, when the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim president and Maduro expelled American diplomats. The embassy property remains under Venezuelan control but closed to the public.

The claims surfaced amid renewed tension between the two countries following U.S. naval operations in the Caribbean targeting what Washington describes as drug-trafficking networks linked to Venezuela. Maduro's government has condemned those missions as a "pretext for aggression," while U.S. officials have not publicly addressed the alleged embassy plot.