15 hours ago
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Lead Editor-Politics
The Ministry of Defence says an investigation has been launched to determine how drone footage was obtained of a restricted area near the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago, where a United States–installed military radar is located.
In a media release issued yesterday, Defence Minister Wayne Sturge said the acquisition and dissemination of footage of military installations and equipment is “inimical to national security interests” and “exposes the citizenry to those who would benefit from the use of such information to our detriment.”
Sturge said, despite claims the drone was operated outside the airport’s five-kilometre no-fly zone, his ministry has intelligence suggesting otherwise.
The Defence Minister — who has responsibility for the radar and custody of its data, and to whom the Prime Minister has deferred technical questions — warned that drone activity near airports poses a serious safety risk.
“The Ministry of Defence wishes to highlight the reckless endangerment created by drone operators from the obvious and inherent danger posed to both incoming and outgoing commercial aircraft during such drone operations, with the real possibility of collisions which can potentially lead to loss of life on a massive scale,” Sturge said.
He added that investigations were underway to identify the “anonymous source” responsible for the drone surveillance, which he said violated the law.
“The Ministry of Defence wishes to assure the law-abiding public that investigations are afoot to determine the identity of the claimed ‘anonymous source’… with a view to preventing further such actions, thereby protecting the public interest and ensuring the safety of all airline passengers,” he said.
Sturge also said his ministry has noted drone activity close to the Piarco International Airport.
“The Ministry of Defence also wishes to remind those operators who wish to continue in defiance of the law that the State will take the necessary actions to protect the public interest should it become necessary, including those afforded under the current State of Emergency,” he added.
The image of the radar facility shows several trucks and utility vehicles within the restricted area, along with a small tent and another temporary structure located close to the equipment, suggesting operational or shelter use.
A number of portable toilets were also visible at the site.
The images fuelled public speculation that a US military base was operating in Tobago.
Commenting on the photograph last Sunday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar described the equipment and tents visible at the site as “support offices” for the radar system installed on the island.
“The picture is self-explanatory. There is a radar with the support offices to operate it,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar also accused Guardian Media and the People’s National Movement (PNM) of “appearing obsessed” with having the “radar and the Americans out of the country,” arguing that the only beneficiaries of such an outcome would be drug traffickers.
That statement marked the Prime Minister’s initial response.
Days later, she rejected claims that the photograph showed a military base.
Responding to further questions from a daily newspaper, Persad-Bissessar again characterised the scene as a radar installation with support generators, a tent and portable toilets.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly sought to assure the public that Trinidad and Tobago will not be used as a launching pad by the United States to attack Venezuela.
However, Guardian Media has reported that the PNM in Tobago, along with the Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA), have expressed strong concern over the possibility that Tobago could be used as a base by the US amid heightened regional tensions and threats of war involving Venezuela.
English (US) ·