Is the Caribbean being dragged into a conflict with the US?

So in another update in this ongoing US-Trinidad-Venezulea saga, the US has deployed air and naval forces in the region as part of its broader “counter-narcotics” campaign. 

This deployment started in August but has steadily ramped up.

Now, the US has installed a new radar and surveillance system on the island of Tobago to help Trinidad and Tobago monitor illicit maritime activity. 

According to T&T’s Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the country had no real-time maritime radar capability before, so America’s assistance will strengthen its national security and bolster the fight against criminal organisations. 

She also admitted recently that some US Marines are still in Tobago to help with the radar installation and airport upgrades. She had previously said that all US troops left after joint training. 

Now, if you’ve been following this story, you’ll know that Trinidad and Caricom are on two separate pages when it comes to this dispute between the US and Venezuela. 

Caricom’s stance is that the region should remain an area of peace and not pick sides. But Kamla has been very vocal about helping the US, mostly because Trinidad is so close to Venezuela and has issues of its own with the country.

But the increase in US military activity across the region is sparking concern. Some analysts have warned that what’s beginning as the hunt for drug traffickers could drag the Caribbean deeper into great-power geopolitics. And we can’t handle an armed conflict right now.

The US has already killed over a dozen people off the coast of Venezuela, and if you watch American news, they are throwing around terms like war crimes and war criminals, so it’s all very messy. 

And that’s the bottom line.