An American warship docked in Trinidad and TobagoThe country’s capital on Sunday as the Trump administration increases its military pressure on neighboring Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.
The arrival of USS GravelyA guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation, joins the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is approaching Venezuela. Maduro criticized the aircraft carrier move as an attempt by the US government to manufacture “a new eternal war” against his country.
President Trump has accused Madurowithout providing evidence, of being the leader of the organized crime gang Aragua Train.
Government officials from the twin-island nation and the United States said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can conduct training exercises.
Robert Taylor/AP
A senior military officer in Trinidad and Tobago told The Associated Press that the move was recently scheduled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, has openly supported the US military presence and the Deadly attacks on suspected drug trafficking ships in waters off Venezuela. The Trump administration has said The United States is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, arguing that the narcotics they smuggle kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, constituting an “armed attack.”
the wife of Alejandro Carranzaone of more than 30 people killed in the attacks, said he left his home on Colombia’s Caribbean coast to fish in open waters and denied having any links to drug trafficking.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said ground attacks in Venezuela are a “real possibility” amid rising tensions.
“I think President Trump has made the decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an accused drug trafficker, that it is time for him to go. That Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narcoterrorists for too long,” the Republican senator told Margaret Brennan. “And President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he returns from Asia about possible future military operations against Venezuela and Colombia.”
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz said in a statement that the exercises seek to “address shared threats such as transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions and security efforts.”
The visit comes a week after the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago He warned Americans to stay away from U.S. government facilities there.. Local authorities said an alleged threat against Americans prompted the warning.
The people of Trinidad and Tobago criticized the warship’s docking in the city in a recent demonstration outside the US embassy. David Abdulah, leader of the Social Justice Movement political party, said Trinidad and Tobago should not have allowed the warship into its waters.
“This is a warship in Trinidad, which will be anchored here for several days just miles from Venezuela when there is a threat of war,” said Abdulah, who is also leader of the Movement for Social Justice political party. “That’s an abomination.”
Caricom, a regional trade bloc made up of 15 Caribbean countries, has called for dialogue. Trinidad and Tobago is a member of the group, but Persad-Bissessar has said the region is not a zone of peace, citing the number of murders and other violent crimes.
