The United States announced new military exercises in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago for five days starting Sunday.
The announcement follows last month’s move by the United States to send a guided missile destroyer to the country for training, which neighboring Venezuela denounced as a “military provocation.”
On Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago’s attorney general said the United States would “intensify” its exercises in the twin island nation, located a few miles off the coast of Venezuela, the Financial Times reported.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Minister Sean Sobers on Friday denied that next week’s exercises are a precursor to possible U.S. military action near Trinidad and Tobago, particularly in Venezuela.
The Caribbean country’s prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has defended the US presence amid signs of global unease over US actions in the region, sparking a feud with Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.
The exercise will also involve the U.S. Marine Corps’ 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is already deployed to the region to support the U.S. government’s mission to “interdict illegal drug trafficking” in the Caribbean.
The Trinidad and Tobago government said the exercise would allow the U.S. and its forces to become familiar with each other’s tactics and techniques, and that Trinidad and Tobago’s military would be trained by Americans to deal with domestic issues such as drug-related crime and gang violence.
In recent weeks, the United States has increased its naval presence in the Caribbean, sending its largest battleship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, to the region. In response, Venezuela announced it would begin a “massive mobilization” of troops, weapons and equipment in the Caribbean region.
This has raised concerns that both the United States and Venezuela are preparing for a larger conflict.
The United States aims to build up regional forces to combat drug ships, but some experts question why so much firepower is needed for this purpose. They noted that the USS Gerald R. Ford represents the United States’ largest military presence in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
President Donald Trump has said he believes Maduro does not have long to live and that a ground attack by the United States on Venezuela is possible. CNN also reported earlier this week that Trump was presented with the option of a military operation inside Venezuela. President Trump has not yet decided on his future direction, but he has previously expressed disapproval of military action aimed at ousting President Maduro.
President Maduro recently told CNN that his message to President Trump was “yes peace, yes peace,” and appealed to the United States against the conflict.
