Trinidad and Tobago now part of US kill chain

THE EDITOR: I write to express my deep concern over the installation of a US military radar system in Tobago and the serious implications it carries for TT’s neutrality, safety, and economic stability.

Recent analysis challenges the official narrative that this installation is merely a “drug-interdiction radar.” The technical evidence instead points to the presence of an AN/TPY-2 X-band missile-defence radar – a sophisticated system built for US war-fighting operations, not narcotics monitoring.

Crucially, this radar is believed to be directly integrated into the US C2BMC (Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications) network. This effectively makes our country part of the US kill chain, supplying real-time targeting data to American weapons systems, including Aegis-class naval destroyers.

By permitting such a system to operate from our territory while the US maintains an adversarial posture towards Venezuela, TT risks breaching the 1907 Hague conventions and drifting into a state of co-belligerency. Under international law, this would render the radar – and by extension our territory – a legitimate military target.

Additionally, there are two possible scenarios to the current stand-off that should be highlighted as they both have potentially catastrophic implications for TT:

1. Direct attack: Venezuela could legally justify striking the radar with anti-radiation missiles (guided missiles designed to detect and home in on the radio frequency emissions from enemy radar systems and other transmitters). Given its proximity to the Crown Point airport, any such attack could result in catastrophic civilian casualties.

2. Asymmetric retaliation: To avoid escalating directly with the US, Venezuela could instead target our economy – through cyberattacks or sabotage of vital industrial infrastructure – crippling the nation without firing a shot at US assets.

The decision already appears to be producing economic consequences, with Venezuela suspending the Dragon Gas deal, a project of significant potential value to our national future. (Are the unitisation agreements with respect to Loran-Manatee and Cocuina-Manakin next?)

The overarching concern is clear: this radar does not enhance our national security. On the contrary, it dramatically increases our exposure to military and economic harm while offering no meaningful protection against the most likely forms of retaliation.

In effect, our government may have traded long-term national interests for alignment with US strategic objectives, assuming immense risk and receiving very little in return.

This is an issue that demands urgent public scrutiny, transparency, and national debate.

A BENNETT

San Fernando