Trinidad and Tobago Allows US Military Use to National Airfields As Growing Tensions with Venezuela
Officials in Trinidad and Tobago has announced it will allow the United States military to utilize its airports shortly. This move comes as mounting regional tensions between the US and nearby Venezuela.
New Defense System Raises Questions
This statement comes after the installation of a sophisticated radar system at an airport in Tobago. Caribbean authorities maintain the radar's primary purpose is for combating domestic crime, emphatically denying a base for offensive actions against another country.
Critics and opposition figures argue, however, that this cooperation risks pulling Trinidad and Tobago into ex-President Donald Trump's intensifying pressure campaign against Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro.
Scope of Agreement and Government Explanation
According to a foreign affairs statement, US use at the airports would be focused on logistics, assisting with resupply efforts and regular staff changes. The government did not elaborate regarding the scope.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has in the past supported US operations targeting alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, strikes that have allegedly resulted in multiple deaths, among them a number of Trinidadian citizens.
Initial Claims and Subsequent Revelations
At first, Persad-Bissessar claimed a US C-17 aircraft arriving in Tobago was carrying marines to assist with a local road construction project. Yet, when pictures emerged of the defense system, she acknowledged that at least 100 marines were stationed in the country, accompanied by the powerful radar.
This system, identified as a long-range AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, is described as air surveillance, defense, and artillery detection capabilities.
Close Neighbors
The twin-island nation lies a mere seven miles from Venezuela at their narrowest separation. It has main international gateways: Piarco International in Trinidad and ANR Robinson International in Tobago.
The airport access agreement comes after a prior event in October, when a US naval vessel was stationed in Trinidad's capital, signaling the Trump administration's ramped-up military pressure against Venezuela.
Meanwhile, American legislators have expressed doubts about the lawfulness of the aforementioned maritime strikes and have called for a congressional review.
