Government not deploying Defence Force after US 'lethal strike'

GOVERNMENT says the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) will not be activated after a US military strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug vessel on September 2, and as American military assets gather in the Caribbean for what some believe is a prelude to US military action against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration and not drug interdiction as claimed by the Trump administration.

Government did not comment on the legality of the strike on the vessel which was allegedly, operated by alleged members of the Venezuelan-based transnational criminal organisation Tren de Aragua (TDA) or on reports that it was en route to TT.

Defence Minister Wayne Sturge and Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander made statements on those matters at a post-cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's on September 4.

Sturge said the TTDF was not going to be deployed in any manner while US forces assembled in the region.

"There is no basis for a deployment of our forces at this stage. Nothing has happened to warrant that. "

Some of those US forces are stationed outside of Venezuela's territorial waters.

Sturge said government was not going to activate the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and TT which allows military-to-military engagement between the countries.

"The short answer is no. Not at this point."

This agreement was signed in December 2024 under the then PNM administration.

On August 23, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said government would allow the US to use TT's territory under the SOFA, if the US made a request to do so to counter any Venezuelan incursion into Guyana.

Venezuela and Guyana have a long-running border dispute over the Essequibo region between both countries.

On September 4, Sturge then focused on the strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug vessel on September 2 which allegedly killed all 11 people on board.

"What took place in terms of the air strike, took place in international waters and in pursuance of one sovereign state pursuing their own interest against persons who are acting in a manner that is inimical to their interest.

"That (US military strike) had nothing to do with TT."

Sturge made no comment on questions being raised internationally about whether the US strike was legal.

The US is not a signatory to UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Under the convention, countries agree not to interfere with vessels operating in international waters. There are limited exceptions to this which allow a state to seize a ship, such as a "hot pursuit" where a vessel is chased from a country's waters into the high seas.

In a BBC report on September 2, Queens University Belfast Prof Luke Moffett said, "Force can be used to stop a boat but generally this should be non-lethal measures."

Sturge did not comment on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement on September 3, the boat may have been en route to Trinidad or some other Caribbean country. Some online reports out of Venezuela on September, claimed the boat was destined for TT.

On September 3, US President Donald Trump said the strike would discourage other cartels from trafficking drugs to the US.

However, Venezuelan communications minister Freddy Nanez has countered that the video of the strike was fake and generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

US Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth subsequently said the video "was not made with AI."

Alexander: Tren de Aragua operating in TT

At the Diplomatic Centre on September 4, Alexander said police had information about TDA operating in TT.

"The police continued to target. The police continued to have investigations. The police continued to receive intelligence with respect to to these persons."

Alexander said, "The Americans had their information and we allow them to do their job."

On whether the deployment was a prelude to either military extraction or intervention in Venezuela, Sturge said he would not comment on that because it was being reported as theory.

"I don't want to venture into the realm of conjecture and hypotheses."

On whether government still supported the Trump administration's position the deployment was for drug interdiction, Sturge said, "Yes. We remain confident that it (US military deployment) is about interdiction. We have no basis for saying anything other than that."

Sturge eventually left the conference while it was still in session.

In a statement on August 20, the US Homeland Security Department said the US Coast Guard's Operation Pacific Viper to crack down on drug smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific involved the suspected smuggler vessels being disabled, drugs seized and the occupants being arrested.

The destroyer USS Sampson, which is among the US Navy vessels deployed to the southern Caribbean, was involved in Pacific Viper. Other US military assets being deployed include, guided-missile destroyers, the nuclear attack submarine USS Newport News, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and surveillance and military transport aircraft based in Puerto Rico.

At the post-cabinet briefing, Alexander recalled past public comments about TT being an island and a transshipment point for illegal drugs.

"So if here is a transshipment point for narcotics and and you are seeing on the nation's streets...the type of weapon...the type of drugs and I just asked a colleague a short while ago...have you ever seen a drug addict?"

Alexander said, "We do not manufacture firearms here. So they are coming in through some means."

He added, "If the intelligence of the US said it is coming from this angle...together with what intelligence that we have...then we should welcome that. Every citizen of this country should welcome that."

At a news conference in Venezuela on September 3, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed the US strike condemned TT and other Caribbean fishermen to "execution at sea."

Cabello slammed Persad-Bissessar and Dominican Republic president Luis Abinader for supporting the US military action in the Caribbean.

Persad-Bissessar has supported the strike. On September 2, she said, "I have no sympathy for traffickers. The US military should kill them all violently."

Cabello described Persad-Bissessar as "the drunk woman who governs Trinidad."

At Diplomatic Centre, Alexander took offence to that remark and asked if Cabello was "a madman."

He asked, "Is he (Cabello) a drug pusher? Is he a pimp?"

Alexander said in TT, people did not call each other names.

On September 4, Venezuelan foreign minister Yvan Gil accused Rubio of lying when he said there was drug trafficking in Venezuela.

"Rubio isn't attacking Venezuela: he's attacking the truth, the history and the dignity of our people."

On the same day, state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) announced the temporary suspension of flights between TT and Venezuela for September, effective immediately.

CAL gave no reason for the suspension but apologised to passengers already booked on flights between September 6-27 for the inconvenience.

CAL promised to provide updates on its Caracas operation on its website and social media platforms as information became available.