Trinidad and Tobago Grants US Military Use to Its Airports As Escalating Tensions with Venezuela
Officials in Trinidad and Tobago has stated it will authorize the United States military to utilize its airports in coming weeks. This move occurs amid increasing strained relations between the US and its neighbor Venezuela.
New Defense System Raises Questions
This announcement comes after the deployment of a sophisticated radar system at an airport in Tobago. Caribbean officials maintain the radar's primary purpose is for curtailing local criminal activity, emphatically denying a base for attacks against another country.
Skeptics caution, however, that these arrangements risks pulling Trinidad and Tobago into ex-President Donald Trump's intensifying pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Nature of Access and Government Explanation
According to a ministry statement, US use at the airports would be “logistical in nature”, enabling resupply efforts and standard troop rotations. The statement did not elaborate on the matter.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has in the past supported US military strikes targeting suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, strikes that have allegedly led to multiple deaths, among them several Trinidadian citizens.
Initial Claims and Subsequent Revelations
At first, Persad-Bissessar claimed a US C-17 aircraft arriving in Tobago was transporting marines to help on a civilian road construction project. Yet, following photographic evidence of the radar installation, she admitted that at least 100 marines were stationed in the country, accompanied by the high-performance radar.
This system, believed to be a long-range AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, is used for aerial monitoring, defense, and artillery detection capabilities.
Proximity and Geography
The twin-island nation is situated a mere seven miles from Venezuela at their closest point. It has main airports: Piarco International in Trinidad and ANR Robinson International in Tobago.
The airport access agreement follows a previous incident in October, when a US warship docked in Trinidad's capital, as part of the Trump administration's ramped-up military pressure towards Venezuela.
Meanwhile, American legislators have raised questions about the lawfulness of the aforementioned maritime strikes and have called for a formal investigation.