Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressed her support for the United States taking military action against neighboring Venezuela. In a social media post, she emphasized the strength and power of the US military and how it could potentially defend Trinidad and Tobago in the face of any threat. She underscored the importance of understanding where their assistance would come from and who could safeguard their country.
The US has been increasing pressure on the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, accusing his regime of involvement in drug trafficking and corruption. Last week, the US government designated his regime as a foreign terrorist organization, a charge Maduro denies. Trinidad and Tobago is geographically close to Venezuela, with only 7 miles of sea separating them.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar reassured her nation about regional tensions, stating there is no need to fear. She denounced any attempts within her country to resist the US, emphasizing the solid bilateral relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. She lauded the US as their largest and oldest trading partner, mentioning that the trade volume with Venezuela only accounts for a tiny fraction of their total trade.
Recently, US President Trump hinted at the possibility of military action against Venezuela. Last week, President Trump ordered a comprehensive blockade on all sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers entering and leaving the country. He accused the Maduro regime of using oil revenue to fund drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.
At the same time, the US has been conducting airstrikes on drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific regions as part of Operation Southern Spear, aimed at disrupting the flow of drugs into the US. Since September, over a hundred drug traffickers and terrorists have been killed in these airstrikes.
After attending a closed-door briefing on the airstrikes in the Senate, Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman clarified that the military’s actions were based on thorough intelligence analysis, refuting claims that the sinkings were random. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for transparency regarding the information on these drug trafficking vessel airstrikes.
In November, the US Marine Corps and the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force conducted joint military exercises, seen as a demonstration of military strength to Venezuela. Earlier in November, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group was deployed in the Latin American region to combat drug smuggling networks and weaken transnational criminal organizations.