The USS Gravely destroyer arrives to dock for military exercises in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. Robert Taylor / AP

A U.S. warship docked in Trinidad and Tobago's capital on Sunday as the Trump administration boosts its military pressure on neighboring Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.

The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation joins the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Maduro criticized the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the U.S government to fabricate "a new eternal war" against his country.

The Venezuelan government on Sunday denounced the presence of the destroyer, calling it a "hostile provocation against Venezuela and a serious threat to the peace of the Caribbean," and accused the U.S. of preparing to launch a false flag attack.

"Venezuela reports that it has captured a mercenary group with direct information from the U.S. intelligence agency, CIA, being able to determine that a false flag attack is underway from waters bordering Trinidad and Tobago, or from Trinidad or Venezuelan territory itself," the government said in a statement.

President Trump has accused Maduro, without providing evidence, of being the leader of the organized crime gang Tren de Aragua.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday, "We are involved in a counterdrug operation. The president has made this very clear."

Government officials from Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises.

A senior military official in Trinidad and Tobago told The Associated Press that the move was only recently scheduled. The official spoke under the condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military presence and the deadly strikes on suspected drug boats in waters off Venezuela. The wife of Alejandro Carranza, one of the more than 30 people killed in the strikes, claimed he left home on Colombia's Caribbean coast to fish in open waters and denied he had any link to drug trafficking.

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