Trinidad and Tobago to give US access to its airports as Venezuela tensions grow | Trinidad and Tobago
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has announced it will allow the US military access to its airports in the coming weeks as tensions rise between the US and Venezuela.
The announcement follows the recent installation of a radar system at the airport in Tobago. The Caribbean nation’s government has said the radar is being used to combat local crime and that the small country will not be used as a launchpad to attack any other country.
But government critics say Trinidad and Tobago risks being drawn into Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign ministry said Monday that the United States will use the airports for activities that are “logistical in nature, facilitating supply replenishment and routine personnel rotation.” He did not provide further details.
Trinidad prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar praised US attacks on drug ships in the Caribbean and Pacific that allegedly killed at least 87 people, including several Trinidadian citizens.
Persad-Bissessar initially said a U.S. C-17 plane that landed in Tobago was carrying sailors to help with a road construction project. However, after images of the radar installation emerged, he admitted that at least 100 sailors were in the country with a military-grade radar believed to be the long-range, high-performance AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR. US defense company Northrop Grumman He says it was used for air surveillance, defense and counter-fire.
Only seven miles separate Venezuela from the twin island Caribbean nation at its closest point. There are two main airports: Piarco international in Trinidad and ANR Robinson international in Tobago.
In October, a US warship docked in Trinidad’s capital as the Donald Trump administration increased military pressure on Venezuela.
US lawmakers have questioned the legality of attacks on ships in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific and recently announced a congressional review.
