Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his security forces had hampered a “false flag operation” to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caraca, in order to raise tensions with Washington amid accumulation of US troops off the coast of Latin American countries.
In an interview aired at the end of Monday, Maduro said that two reliable sources, one domestic and one international, notified the government of the possibility of attacks by the “extremist sector of local Venezuelan rights,” and security forces have been dispatched to strengthen the embassy.
Sources “agree with the possibility that a local terrorist group may have placed the explosive device at the US embassy in Caracas,” Maduro said.
“This was quickly supported by those who are known, and quickly asked by those who are known, but this is all ongoing,” he added.
The goal was to take responsibility for an attack on the Venezuelan government.
Following the rupture of diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington in 2019, the US embassy has been closed, keeping only the person in charge of security and maintenance of the facility.
News of the alleged plan to attack the embassy has reported that US President Donald Trump has halted efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, and told special envoy Richard Grenell, who was leading negotiations with the Maduro government, that all outreach would be stopped with Caraca.
An unnamed US official told Reuters on Monday that Trump had conveyed his message to Grenell during a meeting at the Oval Office with senior military leaders on Thursday.
Officials also told Reuters that it has yet to decide whether Trump will move forward with the military campaign now attacking the so-called Venezuelan ships in the Caribbean.
MNA/