 "File Image- AP")
The United States is set to launch a new round of military exercises in Trinidad and Tobago, with the five-day drills beginning on Sunday, the Caribbean nation announced.
The move comes after Washington sent a warship to the country’s capital last month, part of the Trump administration’s growing military pressure on neighbouring Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro. The USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer recently arrived in Port of Spain, joining the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuelan waters.
Maduro has condemned the carrier’s deployment, accusing the US of trying to create “a new eternal war” against Venezuela.
Soon after the warship’s arrival, Venezuela halted its energy deals with Trinidad and Tobago, accusing the island nation of taking “hostile” steps.
President Donald Trump has also alleged without presenting evidence that Maduro leads the criminal organisation known as Tren de Aragua.
According to the Financial Times, Trinidad and Tobago’s attorney general said on Thursday that the US plans to “intensify” its military drills in the twin-island state, which lies only a few miles off Venezuela’s coast.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Sean Sobers dismissed suggestions that the upcoming exercises signal any pending US military operation in the region, particularly in relation to Venezuela.
Quick Reads
View AllThe drills will involve the US Marine Corps’ 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is already stationed in the Caribbean as part of what Washington describes as a mission to “disrupt illicit drug trafficking.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s government said the exercises will help both forces better understand each other’s tactics and operations, while also allowing American troops to train local security personnel to respond to domestic threats such as drug crimes and gang activity.
With inputs from agencies