Division in the Caribbean as US deploys troops to the region
The Caribbean is facing one of its most serious geopolitical crises in decades as the US escalates military pressure on Venezuela, deploying warships, more than 4500 personnel, and advanced aircraft to the region. While some governments have voiced strong support for Washington, others warn that the action threatens to shatter the long-standing principle of the Caribbean as a “zone of peace.”
In a surprise announcement, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar pledged her government’s full support for anticipated US military action. “Trinidad and Tobago has been helplessly drowning in blood and violence for the last 20 years… Therefore, no amount of Trump derangement syndrome tantrums and anti-American propaganda will prevent my government from welcoming assistance to combat the terrorist drug cartels,” she declared.
Persad Bissessar went further, promising cooperation if Venezuela moved against Guyana, with whom it has a decades-old border dispute. “I want to make it very clear that if the Maduro regime launches any attack against the Guyanese people or invades Guyanese territory and a request is made by the American government for access to Trinidadian territory to defend the people of Guyana, my government will unflinchingly provide them that access. May good sense and peace prevail,” she added.
Guyana also endorsed Washington’s actions. “Guyana reaffirms its support for a collaborative and integrated approach to tackle transnational organised crime. We are committed to working with our bilateral partners to find meaningful solutions and will support regional and global initiatives aimed at dismantling criminal networks to safeguard our shared security,” said the government In a statement.
In the US Virgin Islands, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. also welcomed the deployment, citing both security and economic benefits. “If we could stop this flow of drugs to our shores, why wouldn’t we be for that?” he asked. Bryan argued that trafficking routes had shifted into the Caribbean. “Along with the cocaine comes a lot of bad actors, murder and a lot of things we don’t want. So I am for it.” He added that hosting US soldiers could boost the local economy.
While there has been no joint CARICOM statement on the issue, Foreign Ministers of the bloc have written to the US seeking assurances that any military action linked to its buildup near Venezuela will not threaten regional stability and will include prior consultation.
“What effectively we are trying to do is to work through the diplomatic channels of making sure that there are no surprises and practices, so that you get notification wherever it is feasible for actions that are going to have a foreseeable regional impact; and that equally, that we are able to review from time to time, the nature of the dialogue which we are having,” said Barbados Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds.
However divergence remains. Soon after, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar welcomed an attack by the US military on an alleged Venezuela-based drug vessel, saying she had “no sympathy for traffickers” and that the US military should “kill them all violently.” Her comments have been heavily criticised both at home and abroad.
Opposition to Washington’s show of force has been fierce. Former Trinidad prime minister Stuart Young warned that “CARICOM and our region is a recognised zone of peace and it is critical that this be maintained.”
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) which includes Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, issued a joint condemnation. “The US military deployment in Caribbean waters, disguised as counter-drug operations, represents a threat to the peace and stability of the region and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.”
Venezuela has rejected Washington’s claims that its leadership heads a “narco-terror cartel.” “We are not drug traffickers, we are noble and hard-working people,” insisted Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López. Ambassador Leiff Escalona in St Lucia charged that “this military maneuver is a blatant escalation of hostility against Venezuela and forms part of a disinformation campaign that falsely links our country to the illicit drug trade to justify aggression against us.”
Caracas has responded by deploying warships and drones along its coast, while President Nicolás Maduro has called up millions of militia members, declaring: “No empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela, nor should it touch the sacred soil of South America.”
The Trump administration has doubled its reward for Maduro’s arrest to US$50mn and insists its naval buildup aims to dismantle drug cartels. Yet critics point out that most cocaine flows north via the Pacific, not the Caribbean.
“I think what they are trying to do is put maximum pressure, real military pressure, on the regime to see if they can get it to break. It’s gunboat diplomacy. It’s old-fashioned tactics,” said David Smilde, an expert on Venezuela at Tulane University.
As US destroyers and amphibious assault ships cruise off Venezuela, the Caribbean finds itself divided. Supporters like Trinidad, Guyana, and the USVI argue that Washington’s presence can suppress narcotics trafficking and bring economic benefits. Opponents warn that it risks destabilising the entire region, undermining decades of diplomacy rooted in sovereignty and non-interference.
Source: Caribbean Insight