Venezuela Claims Capture of Alleged CIA-Linked Mercenaries As U.S. Conducts Naval Drills Near Its Coast

Venezuelan authorities announced the capture of a group of alleged mercenaries said to be linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), claiming the individuals were involved in planning a "false flag" attack aimed at provoking a full-scale military confrontation with the country.

The news come as U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago forces conduct joint naval exercises in the southern Caribbean, which Caracas has described as a "hostile provocation" and "serious threat" to regional peace.

The drills coincide with the arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer that docked Sunday in Trinidad's capital as part of broader U.S. military operations in the area.

According to Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the alleged mercenaries were apprehended with "direct information" from the CIA about the purported attack, which she said could originate "from waters bordering Trinidad and Tobago or from its own territory," as El Debate reports.

Rodríguez claimed the operation sought to "fabricate an armed conflict against Venezuela," accusing the government of Trinidad and Tobago of "renouncing its sovereignty to act as a military colony subordinate to U.S. interests."

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement warning that the exercises, which will run through October 30 under the coordination of the U.S. Southern Command, represent "a grave threat to the Caribbean." Caracas also condemned the participation of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest in the U.S. Navy, expected to arrive in the region in the coming days.

In response, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar defended the cooperation, thanking Washington for its "constant security collaboration in the fight against transnational crime." The U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain said the exercises aim to "address shared threats like transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions, and security efforts."

The presence of the U.S. warship has sparked domestic protests in Trinidad, where demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy calling for peace and denouncing the operation as a provocation, as Euronews points out. "This is a warship in Trinidad, just miles off Venezuela when there's a threat of war — that's an abomination," said David Abdulah, leader of the Movement for Social Justice.

The heightened tensions follow President Donald Trump's recent announcement authorizing the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela. According to Pentagon figures, at least 40 people have been killed in ten U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in Caribbean waters since the campaign began earlier this year.