PORT OF SPAIN.–The Government of Trinidad and Tobago announced this Monday that will make that possible United States Armed Forces Access to their airports in the coming weeks for logistical activities related to growing tensions between Washington and Caracas.
In the meantime, Delcy Rodriguezthe Venezuelan vice president, accused the Trinidadian government Help the United States “heist” the oil tanker which was seized by the Trump administration last week.
The measure includes replenishment of supplies and routine staff rotations, the State Department said in a statement, without providing further details.
The announcement came shortly after US Army installs radar system at Tobago airport. Local authorities assured that the device is intended for this purpose Combating internal crime and they emphasized that the Caribbean country are not used as a platform for attacks by third parties. Trinidad and Tobago has two main airports – Piarco International in Trinidad and ANR Robinson in Tobago – and is just over 11 kilometers from Venezuela at its closest point.
Trinidad’s prime minister previously praised US strikes on suspected drug ships in the Caribbean. Those operations, which began in September, have killed more than 80 people as the United States ramps up its naval presence near Venezuela, including deploying the largest aircraft carrier in its fleet. In October, a US warship also docked in the capital Trinidad as a symbol The military pressure of the Donald Trump administration on the government of Nicolás Maduro is increasing.
In this context Venezuela accused Trinidad and Tobago on Monday of helping to “steal” a ship carrying Venezuelan oil seized by the United States last week, in the middle of military exercises in the Caribbean ordered by Washington.
In a statement released by the presidency, Caracas said it was “fully aware of the Trinidadian government’s involvement in the theft of Venezuelan oil” through the “attack on a ship transporting this strategic product from Venezuela” on December 10.
“This act of piracy constitutes a serious violation of international law and a flagrant violation of the principles of free navigation and trade,” says the text published on the Telegram platform by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
The executive decision was generated strong internal criticism. Amery Browne, an opposition senator and former foreign minister, accused the government of misleading and argued that Trinidad and Tobago was “Accomplices to extrajudicial killings, cross-border tensions and belligerence”.
“There is nothing routine about this. It has nothing to do with the usual cooperation and friendly cooperation that we have enjoyed for decades with the United States and all our neighbors,” he said. In his opinion, the cooperation takes the country “a further step on the path to becoming a satellite state” and follows the logic of “the strongest makes right”.
In the United States, lawmakers from both parties are also scrutinizing military operations in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. In recent weeks they have questioned their legality and announced that Congress would conduct a review of attacks on ships while debating the scope and rationale for the deployment.
The reaction from Venezuela was immediate. The Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López assured that the country “has significantly strengthened its air defense system”after the naval and military deployment ordered by the White House since August.
In an official act, he highlighted the investment and development of the operational capacities of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces The focus is on monitoring and protecting airspaceas part of a deterrence strategy Ensuring territorial integrity against external threats. He did not provide any information about the quantities or origin of the equipment.
Padrino López recalled that since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999 and under Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela had stopped purchasing American weapons and prioritized purchases from Russia, in addition to turning to China for military communications.
The President Nicolás Maduro denouncedfor his part, a “Campaign of pure lies” promoted by the United States to justify aggression against its country.
In a remote intervention before the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA), he described “pure fake news” stories from Washington and rejected allegations of sending people with mental health problems to the United States and characterizing Venezuela as a drug state. According to Maduro, reports from international organizations classify the country as irrelevant to drug production and trafficking.
For Caracas, the U.S. military operation in the southern Caribbean is not aimed at combating drug trafficking; force regime change and remove Maduro from powerin an escalation that is raising regional tensions and putting neighboring countries like Trinidad and Tobago at the center of the dispute.
AP and ANSA agencies
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