Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his security forces prevented a “false flag operation” to plant explosives at the United States Embassy in the capital Caracas in order to heighten tensions with Washington, amid a US military build-up off the coast of the Latin American country.

In a televised interview, Maduro said two reliable sources, one domestic and one international, had informed the government of the possible attack by “extremist sectors of the local Venezuelan right” and security forces were sent to reinforce the embassy.

Maduro said the sources agreed on the possibility that a local terrorist group placed an explosive device at the US Embassy in Caracas”.

He added that the goal was to lay blame for the attack on Venezuela’s government, which would then “begin an escalation of conflict” with the US.

However, following the rupture of diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington in 2019, the US Embassy is closed and only maintains staff responsible for security and upkeep of the premises.