The US in the Caribbean

THE arrival of the USS Gravely at the port of Port of Spain on October 26 increases the potential for Trinidad and Tobago's involvement in the simmering conflict between the US and Venezuela as it quite literally, comes ashore.

The Gravely, a US Navy guided-missile destroyer is officially visiting for four days with the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit to conduct joint training with the TT Defence Force.

War games in the current environment of constant threat might mean that the Defence Force will benefit from training with troops described as the US military's "tip of the spear."

It could also mean that these marines will benefit from ground training on territory that's geographically similar to nearby Venezuela's terrain.

In September, the 22nd engaged in training exercises in Puerto Rico, experiencing tropical conditions and terrain.

The government has dismissed opposition concerns as "fearmongering," and works minister Jearlean John described the mission as one of goodwill, "helping out schools and helping our military."

However, ten former Caricom leaders, including TT's Dr Keith Rowley, have issued statements calling for "a pullback" from military buildup.

Dismissing legitimate concerns about clear military action on TT's doorstep in an environment in which ten vessels have been summarily destroyed and dozens of people murdered, two believed to be TT nationals, on the presumption that they were trafficking drugs is being excessively hopeful.

To date, the US has offered no evidence to legitimise any of these extra-judicial attacks.

The US military buildup in the Caribbean is real and troubling, underlined by the most recent escalation, the decision to deploy the largest US marine asset, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, to the region.

A visit by a warship is not the same as an ocean-going medical ship or a floating library.

The US government's proclaimed mission in the Caribbean is to act against drug traffickers and has declared the government of Venezuela guilty of drug trafficking.

The deployment of a warship with 5,000 sailors and at least 75 war-tasked aircraft is dramatic overkill to meet the challenge of the occasional speeding "drug" boat.

How long will it take this unilateral policing action to move from international waters to sovereign soil? President Donald Trump must also be aware that his perceived enemy is also making plans.

On October 23, President Nicolas Maduro announced that his government had strategically deployed 5,000 Russian Igla-S anti-aircraft missiles and mobilised "millions" of volunteer reservists to respond to ground-based attacks.

Both Russia and China have significant investments and trade agreements with Venezuela and view the country as a geopolitical asset.

TT is a minor player in this military chess game, in which the US seems set to keep raising the stakes, hoping that Maduro will step down and allow regime change. This country doesn't have the chips to play at this table.