Venezuela accuses DEA of false-flag drug plot after cocaine seizure
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Venezuela’s interior minister says DEA tried a false-flag drug plot after troops seized 3.6 tons of cocaine and arrested four suspects in the Caribbean.
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Venezuelan Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello holds a copy of a book whose title reads in Spanish, "From Dictatorship to Democracy," during a speech at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025. (AP)
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on Wednesday accused the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of trying to stage a false-flag operation against the country, following a major narcotics seizure in the Caribbean.
Cabello said Venezuelan forces intercepted a speedboat carrying 3,680 kilos of cocaine, a GPS device, two radios, 2,400 liters of fuel, and 100 sacks of cocaine hydrochloride. He noted that authorities have confiscated 60 tons of drugs so far this year, the largest amount since 2010.
The minister announced that four suspects were arrested while attempting to traffic drugs and fuel, stressing that the operation was foiled through coordinated work by Venezuelan intelligence and the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).
'No authority to impose the death penalty'
“This is how you prove a fact, not by bombing a vessel,” Cabello said, in reference to a recent US strike on a boat allegedly carrying narcotics. “We have fully identified those responsible, but we did not kill them. We have no authority to impose the death penalty on anyone.”
According to Cabello, FANB units, acting on intelligence reports, kept watch for 20 hours as a small craft departed Colombia’s La Guajira region. After being surrounded, the crew surrendered without resistance.
The minister revealed that the shipment belonged to Levi Enrique Lopez Batis, whom he described as “a DEA agent and drug trafficker,” calling the incident a “false-flag operation” aimed at discrediting Venezuela.
Cabello also remarked that the detainees had their Venezuelan ID cards “ready to be handed over,” calling the detail “curious and strange.”
“This false-flag operation seeks to accuse Venezuela of any of the atrocities carried out by the DEA, the largest drug cartel in the world,” he asserted.
US bombs second Venezuelan vessel
US President Donald Trump alleged on Monday that US forces had targeted a second Venezuelan vessel, killing three people he described as "terrorists transporting narcotics". The operation, he claimed, expanded his administration’s campaign against drug cartels and broadened the scope of military force used to stop them.
Trump provided only limited details, stating in a social media post that the strike had taken place earlier that morning under his direct orders. The post included a video of what appeared to be a stationary boat exploding into flames.
“The strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The carefully phrased announcement appeared intended to pre-empt legal challenges over the strike’s justification. Washington faced criticism earlier this month after an alleged similar operation against a Venezuelan vessel left 11 people dead.
US military build-up in the region
The strike came amid a significant US military buildup near Venezuela. Over the weekend, five F-35 fighter jets were deployed to Puerto Rico, joining half a dozen US Navy destroyers already positioned there, along with support assets aimed at disrupting drug trafficking.
The naval contingent includes the Iwo Jima amphibious ready group, comprising the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale with 4,500 sailors, as well as the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has 2,200 personnel, The Guardian reported, citing officials.
Trump has so far reportedly declined to commit to military operations inside Venezuela itself, sidestepping questions about the legality of the strikes.
