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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has turned Trinidad and Tobago into a “US aircraft carrier” for a war throughout the Caribbean against Venezuela, against Colombia, and against all of South America. The accusation against Persad-Bissessar was made yesterday by the Venezuelan government which denounced the USS Gravely’s presence in Trinidadian waters, claiming that it had gathered information that the warship’s visit to Trinidad is part of a “false flag attack” to be carried out from Trinidad and Tobago. Such an attack it said would constitute a hostile provocation against Venezuela and generate a full military confrontation, the Venezuelan government said. A communique from the Venezuelan government on yesterday evening claimed that the country had captured a mercenary group with information from the US’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It determined that the attack is underway from waters bordering Trinidad or from Trinidadian or Venezuelan territory, it claimed. “This planned action perfectly evokes the provocations of the battleship Maine and the Gulf of Tonkin, which gave rise to the war against Spain to seize Cuba in 1898, and which allowed the US Congress to authorise involvement in an eternal war against Vietnam in 1964, respectively, from which they emerged defeated by the Vietnamese people after facing incalculable destruction and regrettable human losses,” the statement read. The statement directly criticised Persad-Bissessar, who it said had renounced the sovereignty of the country to act as a military subordinate to the US which has turned T&T’s territory into a “US aircraft carrier” for a war throughout the Caribbean against Venezuela, against Colombia, and against all of South America. The response came hours after the USS Gravely, an Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer docked in the Port of Port of Spain, where it will remain for the next four days as part of a military to military exchange, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The communique marks the latest escalation in tensions that have been simmering between Trinidad, Venezuela and the US since late August, when the United States began expanding its military presence in the southern Caribbean as part of what its claims is an effort to curb drug-trafficking the region, and Persad-Bissessar openly aligned her government with Washington’s security agenda. She had then promised US forces unflinching access to Trinidad and Tobago’s territory in the event of a Venezuelan attack on Guyana. It also follows previous warnings by Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, that T&T would receive a response, legitimate under international law, in the event of an attack carried out in its territory. The statement last night claimed that by subscribing to the US’ “militaristic” agenda, Persad-Bissessar not only intends to attack Venezuela and break historic bonds of brotherhood but also to violate the UN charter, the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and the principles of Caricom. “These are not defensive exercises: this is a colonial operation of military aggression that seeks to turn the Caribbean into a space for lethal violence and US imperial domination,” the statement said. Venezuela called the visit a surrender and betrayal of T&T’s people, citing the two Trinidadian fishermen believed to have been killed in the US’ fifth lethal boat-strike weeks ago. “The Bolivarian National Armed Forces will remain alert and mobilised in perfect Popular-Military-Police unity in the face of this very serious provocation. Our Republic, heir to Bolívar and Chávez, will always defend its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and its right to live in peace against foreign enemies and its vassals,” the statement read. Back and Forth Despite international pushback, after the first US strike was carried out in September, killing 11, Persad-Bissessar had praised the attack, claiming that the country had been affected by violent crime as a result of drug-trafficking. At that time she had further stated that she had no sympathy for traffickers. In her speech to the United Nations in late September, Persad-Bissessar said that the notion of the Caribbean being a “zone of peace” had been outdated. As the strikes continued, Venezuelan messaging directed at Trinidad (just seven miles separating the two) increased, warning against military escalation within T&T waters. Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez warned Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana not to “dare” allow a US attack from their territories. Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez further warned the country that any military action taken against Venezuela from its territory would receive a response- one he claimed would be legitimate under international law and the United Nations Charter. The US’ fifth strike which killed six prompted relatives of two Las Cuevas fishermen to come forward, claiming that they had been on board the vessel and were killed as a result. The families condemned the US action. Rodriguez stated that the alleged killing was a self-fulfilling prophecy, but Persad-Bissessar stood by her previous statements. Last week, the Government withheld its position as other Caricom heads of government signed a joint statement calling for the Caribbean to remain a zone of peace. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later released a statement again welcoming the US’ presence and efforts in the Caribbean. Persad-Bissessar has since dismissed concerns on the timing of the warship’s presence in T&T as “war-mongering” perpetuated by the opposing People’s National Movement(PNM). Land strikes In an interview yesterday, US Republican senator Lindsey Graham stated that Trump has recently expressed his plans to expand the US’ military strikes from the Caribbean sea to operations on land, including Venezuela and Colombia. He claimed these plans would be briefed to US lawmakers upon the President’s return from a State visit. Graham said in an interview with CBS yesterday, “President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia. So there will be a congressional briefing about a potential expansion from the sea to the land. I support that idea.” “The end game is to make sure that Venezuela and Colombia cannot be used to poison America, that the narco-terrorist dictator Maduro no longer be able to threaten our country and to send in drugs to kill Americans,” he said. Trump had weeks ago confirmed that he authorised the CIA to partake in covert operations within Venezuela. He also repeatedly voiced the sentiment of expanding strikes to include land. “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” Trump had said.
