On Sunday, U.S. warship USS Gravely docked at Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, Port-of-Spain. This comes during a time of increasing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, and growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela.
Trinidad and Tobago are twin islands located off the coast of Venezuela, with the closest points between Trinidad and Venezuela only a few miles apart. Because of this proximity, the increasing U.S. conflict with Venezuela has affected the islands.
At 9 a.m. on Oct. 26, the USS Gravely—a missile destroyer—arrived at the Port-of-Spain. The warship plans to be there until Thursday, while U.S. marines conduct joint military training with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.
Eventually joining USS Gravely in the Caribbean will be the USS Winston S. Churchill, the USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), USS Mahan (DDG-72), and the USS Gerald R. Ford—the world’s largest aircraft carrier. This will create a total of at least 11 Navy ships in the Caribbean.
As of today, there are fighter jets, eight warships, and 10,000 U.S. military members in the Caribbean.
The rising U.S. military presence in the Caribbean is not new. Since Sept. 2, there have been 10 U.S. military strikes on boats that were allegedly carrying drugs.
The strikes have killed at least 43 people, with the Oct. 16 attack being the only known instance of there being survivors. The 2 survivors will be returned to their countries of origin—Columbia and Ecuador.
In his war on drugs, President Donald Trump is mainly targeting Venezuela. Though drugs like cocaine are sometimes being smuggled from Venezuela to Trinidad, the later country has not faced the same scrutiny by the United States.
Despite Trump saying that “Venezuela is feeling the heat” from the U.S. military pressure, he admitted that a lot of the other countries are feeling the heat too.
On Oct. 18, the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago sent out a security alert urging residents to avoid U.S. government facilities in Trinidad and Tobago throughout the weekend. According to the Associated Press, Trinidad and Tobago’s minister of homeland security Roger Alexander said the alert “could be linked” to conflict in the Caribbean.
While other Caribbean leaders want to keep the region as a “zone of peace,” Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessar has supported the U.S. strikes on drug boats. However, Persad-Bissessar’s support does not mean that Trinidad and Tobago is unaffected by the violence.
Two bodies with burn marks and missing limbs turned up on the shores of Trinidad and Tobago, with locals considering them to be victims of the U.S. attacks on boats. Two Trinidad and Tobago residents, Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, are also thought to have died during one of the U.S. military attacks, despite relatives claiming they had nothing to do with drug trafficking.
Fear of being caught in the crossfire has led fishers near Maracas Bay and Las Cuevas to stay closer to the shore and alter their route away from Venezuela.
Last year, the fishing industry in Trinidad and Tobago earned $12.3 million USD in exports, making it a significant contributor to rural communities. Trump has admitted to seeing less boats in general in the waters, and admitted that he thinks “the fishing business has probably been hurt.”
Some fishers are even left confused with the amount of people the Unites States claims are on board the boats they attack, which has often been a number greater than 3. Locals associate drug shipments with fewer than 3 people since as it saves room for more cargo, making the attacked boats seem out of the ordinary.
So far, the United States has ignored Venezuela’s negotiation efforts, despite Venezuela having “offered everything.” Trump has rejected many of the stakes Venezuela has offered the United States in its natural resources.
The Department of Treasury, however, has issued a license that allows Shell to work in the Venezuelan gas field Dragon. The gas will be processed and sold from Trinidad, essentially tying all three countries together in a business deal.
Trinidad’s failure to oppose the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean has also led to pushback from Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López. Lópex said he would respond with “legitimate defense” if an attack on Venezuela is carried out from Trinidad.
