Venezuela Suspends Energy Deals After CIA-Linked Plot

Venezuela says its security forces captured a group of alleged CIA-linked mercenaries and dismantled a planned false-flag attack it claims was intended to strike or be blamed on Caracas, including an incident involving the U.S. warship USS Gravely in Port of Spain. Caracas alleges the operation was coordinated with the United States and Trinidad and Tobago to justify military action, and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and President Nicolás Maduro have publicly denounced Prime Minister Kamla Persad‑Bissessar as complicit. Maduro announced the suspension of all gas and energy agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, invoking provisions of a 2015 framework accord. The claims come amid a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean — including bomber flights, strikes on suspected drug‑smuggling boats, the docking of USS Gravely and deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group — and after reporting that President Donald Trump authorized covert CIA operations targeting Venezuela. Venezuelan authorities have not released verifiable evidence of the plot or the arrests, and independent outlets and U.S. officials have either not confirmed the claims or called them disinformation. The allegations and Caracas's retaliatory measures have sharply increased regional tensions and raised the risk of further confrontation.