Venezuela Says It Uncovered U.S. Plot to Fabricate Incident And Justify An Invasion

The Venezuelan army said the army raised its alert level after uncovering a U.S. plot seeking to fabricate an incident at waters the country is disputing with Guyana that would create a justification to invade the South American country.

Concretely, the document said the operation would take place at an ExxonMobil offshore platform and would develop in the Essequibo region, an area controlled by Guyana that Venezuela claims as its own.

The statement follows a similar one by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who during the weekend accused opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the Guyanese government and American military contractor Erik Prince of conspiring to launch a "false flag" operation allowing them to invade Venezuela.

"This plot seeks to stage an attack on an ExxonMobil platform operating in waters extending into the yet-to-be-delimited Essequibo region, with the intention of justifying retaliatory and hostile actions against our nation," Rodriguez said during a televised address.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez added that "these false incidents are part of a longstanding imperial playbook used to manipulate public opinion and justify unwarranted interventions."

The claims come shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to the region and reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Guyana's security. Concretely, Rubio signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance security cooperation between the two nations during a visit to Georgetown.

The rapid expansion of Guyana's oil industry has heightened its strategic importance to the U.S., particularly as the Trump administration seeks to reduce regional reliance on Venezuelan energy exports. Guyana is poised to become the world's largest oil producer on a per capita basis, surpassing Qatar and Kuwait, as France24 reports. In fact, ExxonMobil, leading oil development in the country, projects that Guyana will produce approximately 1.3 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.

However, the discovery has also heightened tensions between the countries. Earlier in March, Guyana accused a Venezuelan military vessel of encroaching on its waters near an oil field operated by ExxonMobil, Hess Corp., and China's CNOOC.

Venezuela, on its end, denied violating Guyana's sovereignty. However, the country has conducted several actions that sparked criticism from Guyana. Late least year, Caracas was accused of illegally building a military base on Guyana's side of the Anonko island, a territory mostly inhabited by gold miners and military staff.

In early May, Venezuelan troops also built a makeshift bridge over the Cuyuni River, close to the border, and deployed armored vehicles there. Caracas also deployed armored vehicles, including Scorpion-90 light tanks, V-100 armored vehicles used for transporting troops, 8x8 tactical trucks as well as supply vehicles to the Anonko island.

The Essequibo represents two thirds of Guyana's territory but Venezuela claims it as its own. Venezuela has brought its claim to the forefront of regional diplomacy since holding a referendum last year (approved by an overwhelming majority) to take over the territory and create a Venezuelan province there. It has also accused the Georgetown government of "defying and provoking" Caracas by granting concessions to exploit the areas natural resources, particularly oil.

Maduro also claimed in April that the U.S. has built secret bases in the region. "They have set (U.S.) Southern Command bases, as well as the CIA to prepare aggressions," he said during a political rally. He went on to add that the alleged attacks would target "the people of Tumeremo," the city the government designated as regional capital.