The government of Trinidad and Tobago announced Monday it will allow U.S. military aircrafts to use its airports in the coming weeks.
In a statement released by its Foreign Minister, Trinidad and Tobago reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with the United States to advance safety, security, and stability in the region.
“In keeping with established bilateral cooperation, the Ministry has granted approvals for United States military aircraft to transit Trinidad and Tobago’s airports in the coming weeks,” the statement read in part. “The United States has advised that these movements are logistical in nature, facilitating supply replenishment and routine personnel rotations.”
According to Latin American outlets, the agreement grants the U.S. military the ability to use Trinidad and Tobago’s two international airports: Piarco in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and the A.N.R. Robinson International Airport in Scarborough, Tobago.
Over the past months, the government led by Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has increased its collaboration with the United States in light of the ongoing U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean to fight drug trafficking cartels operating in the region.
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Earlier this month, Persad-Bissessar confirmed that a recently-installed U.S. radar system in the country will be used for the fight against drug trafficking and to curb the movement of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
In October, the USS Gravely Navy Aegis guided missile destroyer visited Port of Spain for a series of military exercises — an activity that drew the ire of Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, who accused the nation’s Prime Minister of being a “warmonger.”
Maduro, and members of his authoritarian regime have repeatedly claimed that the ongoing U.S. military’s drug-fight efforts in the Caribbean are allegedly a pretext to stage an “invasion” of Venezuela and remove him from power with the objective of “stealing” Venezuela’s oil and other resources.
“Through this partnership, Trinidad and Tobago has benefited from joint military training exercises, enhanced surveillance capabilities, including the installation of an effective radar system, and collaborative efforts that have contributed to the interdiction of millions of dollars’ worth of illegal narcotics,” The Trinidadian Foreign Ministry’s statement read.
“The United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has also supported national development through educational initiatives, including school equipment donations and infrastructure enhancement projects,” the statement continued.
On Monday afternoon, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil published an official regime statement accusing Trinidad and Tobago of allegedly “having knowledge” of the “theft” of a sanctioned oil tanker recently seized by the United States. The socialist regime lashed out against Persad-Bissessar, accusing her of having a “hostile agenda” against Venezuela over the installation of the U.S. radar systems to “harass ships transporting Venezuelan oil.”
“This official has turned the territory of Trinidad and Tobago into a U.S. aircraft carrier to attack Venezuela, in an unequivocal act of vassalage,” the statement read in part.
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