CARACAS, PORT OF SPAIN - Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has suspended all energy cooperation agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, following the arrival of a U.S. warship in the twin-island nation over the weekend.

Maduro made the announcement during a televised address, accusing Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of turning her country into “an aircraft carrier for the American empire.” The decision marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the two neighboring countries.

The Venezuelan Ministry of Oil had earlier indicated that Caracas planned to halt all joint energy development projects with Trinidad and Tobago. These projects include shared natural gas exploration and production initiatives in offshore areas near both nations.

Trinidad Rejects “Blackmail”

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar swiftly responded, saying she would not give in to “Venezuelan blackmail.”

“Our future does not depend on Venezuela—and it never has,” she declared.

Meanwhile, the United States and Trinidad and Tobago have continued conducting joint military exercises in the Caribbean. The U.S. Navy recently carried out operations off the Venezuelan coast, targeting boats suspected of drug trafficking.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Maduro of maintaining ties with drug cartels, while Caracas has denounced Washington’s actions as provocations designed to destabilize the region.

The suspension of the energy agreement threatens to derail years of cooperation between the two nations, which had been working together on cross-border gas development projects aimed at boosting regional energy security.