CARACAS, PORT OF SPAIN - The government of Venezuela has condemned the arrival of a U.S. Navy warship in Trinidad and Tobago, calling it a “military provocation aimed at triggering a war in the Caribbean.” The statement, issued by the administration of President Nicolás Maduro, also claimed that Venezuelan authorities had arrested a group of mercenaries allegedly linked to the CIA, who were planning a false-flag operation to provoke a military confrontation. No evidence was provided to support the accusation.

The USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, was spotted off the coast of Port of Spain on Sunday morning. Its arrival, together with a unit of U.S. Marines for joint exercises with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, had been announced last Thursday.

The visit comes amid heightened regional tensions, as Washington currently has seven warships deployed in the Caribbean and one in the Gulf of Mexico, officially as part of an anti-drug trafficking operation that U.S. officials say is focused on Venezuela and its leadership.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also announced plans to deploy an aircraft carrier to the region, further raising concerns in Caracas.

In its statement, the Maduro government accused the United States of seeking to destabilize the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations and warned that such military movements “threaten the peace and sovereignty of the region.”

The government of Trinidad and Tobago has not yet responded publicly to Venezuela’s statement, but regional observers note that the joint military exercises were pre-planned and officially coordinated between Washington and Port of Spain.

The episode adds another layer of tension to U.S.-Venezuela relations, already strained by sanctions, espionage allegations, and competing military maneuvers across the southern Caribbean.