Venezuela Accuses US of Provoking War with Trinidad Exercises

The Venezuelan government has denounced the arrival of the US destroyer USS Gravely in Trinidad and Tobago and the military exercises as a "provocation." It also announced the arrest of mercenaries allegedly linked to the CIA.

According to a statement from Caracas, Venezuela denounces a "military provocation from Trinidad and Tobago in coordination with the CIA to spark war in the Caribbean." It was also reported that "a group of mercenaries was arrested to whom the American intelligence service, the CIA, provided information."

Washington has deployed seven warships in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, officially for operations against drug cartels, targeting Venezuela and its president Nicolás Maduro in particular. US President Donald Trump also announced the arrival of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford.

Trump accuses Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking, which Maduro denies. Caracas claims that Washington is using drug smuggling as a pretext for regime change and seizure of the country's oil reserves.

Since early September, the US has carried out airstrikes against vessels believed to be trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and the Pacific. According to AFP, at least 43 people have been killed.