The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has thrown its full support behind the deployment of U.S. military assets to the Caribbean region, stating the move is intended “to destroy the terrorist drug cartels.”
This follows reports that the United States ordered the deployment of 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, according to CNN.
In a press release issued today, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar assured the public that “The only persons who should be worried about the activity of the US military are those engaged in or enabling criminal activity. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear.”
The Prime Minister’s statement directly addressed regional concerns and internal criticism, including a clear position on the role of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “The Trinidad and Tobago government has not engaged and has no intention of engaging CARICOM on this matter; each member state can speak for themselves on this issue,” the release said.
Persad-Bissessar also clarified the government’s stance on Venezuela, saying, “NO requests have ever been made by the American Government for their military assets to access Trinidadian territory for any military action against the Venezuelan regime.” However, she made it “very clear that if the Maduro regime launches any attack against the Guyanese people or invades Guyanese territory and a request is made by the American Government for access to Trinidadian territory to defend the people of Guyana, my government will unflinchingly provide them that access.”
The Prime Minister linked the military deployment to a long-standing crisis of crime and violence in the region, arguing that local governments are ill-equipped to handle the scale of the problem. “Due to drug, human and firearms trafficking, Caribbean countries, and in particular Trinidad and Tobago have experienced massive spikes in transnational crime, gang activity, murders, violence and financial crimes. Most Caribbean countries and in particular Trinidad and Tobago have been dealing with out-of-control crime for the last twenty years,” the statement read.
It continued, “Small island states like ours simply do not have the financial and military resources to take on the drug cartels.”
She noted that these cartels have become deeply embedded in society, “rendering governments toothless to enact actual change to stop criminal activity.” The Prime Minister pushed back against critics of the U.S. presence, stating it is “shocking to hear some persons using referrals to the Caribbean region as a zone of peace to push negative commentary on the US military deployment against these terrorist cartels.”
Concluding her statement, Persad-Bissessar reiterated her government’s position, referencing remarks made by a U.S. official. “Trinidad and Tobago has been helplessly drowning in blood and violence for the last twenty years; Vice President Vance spoke the truth when he mentioned our high murder and crime rates. Therefore, no amount of Trump derangement syndrome tantrums and anti-American propaganda will prevent my government from welcoming assistance to combat the terrorist drug cartels.”
Earlier this week, U.S. Vice President JD Vance used Trinidad and Tobago as an example of high crime while defending President Donald Trump’s security crackdown in Washington, D.C.
“You hear these guys outside, they appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities, and they do the fact that DC a week ago had a higher murder rate than Trinidad and Tobago, which the United States State Department has said you shouldn’t visit because it’s unsafe. We ought to be able to enjoy great American cities. That’s what we’re trying to do in the Trump administration,” Vance said.
