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Venezuela accuses US of plotting ‘false flag attack’ on Guyana oil platform
Venezuela’s vice-president said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Blackwater founder Erik Prince were behind the alleged attack plan
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Venezuela’s army has said it is in a “state of alert” after the government warned of a suspected plot to blame Caracas for an attack on oil giant ExxonMobil in neighbouring Guyana.
The two countries have been at odds over the Essequibo territory that covers two-thirds of Guyana’s land area but is claimed by Venezuela.
Their long-standing dispute flared after ExxonMobil discovered vast oil reserves there in 2015.
Venezuela’s armed forces said on Sunday that they had an “iron will” and would “respond with energetic action” to “any threat to the integrity and peace” of the country.
Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez had said on Saturday that “a false flag attack” was planned “to attack ExxonMobil’s platform” off the Essequibo coast.
Such an attack was designed to “spark confusion and trigger an escalation of aggression”, Rodriguez added.
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