Trinidad and Tobago announces new military exercises with US as tensions rise in Caribbean

• Repeating story: The U.S. overthrow of Panama’s former dictator 36 years ago shapes President Trump’s Venezuela policy
• response: Venezuelan military orders ‘massive’ mobilization in face of ‘imperial’ threat and arrival of US aircraft carrier

Prime Minister Sean Sobers told a news conference in the capital, Port of Spain, that the exercise would begin on Sunday and continue until next Friday. He made no mention of U.S. plans or growing hostilities with Venezuela, saying the training will take place in urban and rural settings, in natural light and at night, and will also use transport equipment such as helicopters.

In justifying the operation, he spoke of increased armed violence. In 2024, the murder rate reached 45.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, with 80% of murders committed using firearms and 44% associated with gangs operating in the Caribbean Republic. For sobriety, the exercise confirms the government’s commitment to ensuring its security forces are adequately trained and equipped, in addition to demonstrating its “strong alliance with the United States.”

– Compare these statistics with those of other Caribbean countries facing crime waves, sometimes recording four murders a month and more than 40 a year, and you can understand why our country is in a completely different category, Sobers said at a press conference quoted by the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, adding that he wanted the country to be a “zone of peace”.

Trinidad and Tobago’s attorney general, John Jeremy, told the Financial Times a day earlier that Americans should step up exercises in the country, giving hints about drills scheduled to begin on Sunday.

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian newspaper, a military drone was spotted by residents of the northern region of Trinidad, the country’s largest island. Officials have not commented, but a report released last week said a U.S.-made MQ-9A Reaper drone, used for surveillance, surveillance and attack roles, recently flew over the region.

— If something goes wrong or someone drops a bomb, we are the first to be affected, so we need an appropriate response to this. People are making decisions and we have to just sit back and accept it? What a ridiculous story, said one fisherman contacted by a Trinidad publication.

• Imperialist threat: Maduro forces are on ‘high alert’ after largest US warship arrives in Caribbean

Trinidad and Tobago, about 10 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela, is a key support in the U.S. military operation in the Caribbean, which is officially targeting drug-trafficking cartels in the region, but some see it as an early step in a plan to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The State Department has offered a $50 million reward for his capture, and President Donald Trump has authorized the CIA, America’s main intelligence agency, to conduct operations inside Venezuela. Washington alleges that Mr. Maduro is the head of a criminal organization known as the Sun Cartel, which is involved in drug trafficking. Since September, 20 vessels linked to the cartel have been destroyed in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 70 people and raising legal and military questions.

Last month, the warship USS Gravely entered the country for joint training with local forces, sparking protests in Caracas. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who was elected on a platform of fighting crime and building rapprochement with the United States, seemed unconcerned by Venezuelans who declared her persona non grata.

— Why would they want me to go to Venezuela? — He added to reporters last month that depending on the government, military operations between the two countries could become more frequent.

• Security crisis: Trinidad and Tobago puts army on ‘full alert’ in response to crisis between US and Venezuela

On Thursday, Army Secretary Pete Hegseth launched Operation Lanza do Sul, which aims to combat groups known as “narco-terrorists” and step up efforts to “defend countries against drugs” in Latin America. The announcement coincided with the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, the United States’ largest warship, in the Caribbean and the expansion of the country’s military presence in the region. In response, Venezuela stepped up its readiness for a possible attack, but President Maduro appealed to Americans to unite for “continental peace” in an interview with CNN.

— No more endless wars. There are enough unjust wars. Enough about Libya. “Enough about Afghanistan,” Maduro said.