Venezuelan authorities have revealed an operation targeting the USS Gravely, accusing that it was funded by the CIA.

The authorities in Venezuela announced the discovery of an operation targeting the guided missile destroyer USS Gravely, which recently docked in Trinidad, near the Venezuelan coast. The Pentagon has deployed seven warships in the Caribbean and one in the Gulf of Mexico, apparently in coordination with anti-drug operations. President Donald Trump confirmed the arrival of the USS Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and mentioned the military deployment as a way to exert pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. does not recognize as a legitimate president. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated that four suspects have been arrested, and Caracas claimed that the operation was funded by the CIA, aimed at attacking the destroyer and staging a crime. Trump also authorized CIA operations in Venezuela and considered ground attacks. Since September, American forces have destroyed vessels suspected of drug trafficking, resulting in the deaths of 43 people in international waters.