Former PP ministers cautious after PM's statement on Venezuela

Garvin Nicholas, left, and Kamla Persad-Bissessar. -

FORMER People's Partnership (PP) attorney general Garvin Nicholas has sounded a note of caution on an August 23 by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, expressing support for the US naval deployment in the southern Caribbean Sea outside of Venezuela's territorial waters.

In a Facebook post, Nicholas said, "I am absolutely unambiguously in support of eliminating crime and making Trinidad and Tobago the safest country in the world to live. This has always been my objective."

But he added, "The undisputed reality is that there is no military in history nor will there be any in the future that can bomb drug cartels or gangs out of existence."

While TT could benefit from greater vigilance of the waters between its coast and the South American coast, Nicholas said, "It is however important to remember that the USA couldn’t eliminate the Taliban in Afghanistan by bombing them."

He added the Israeli Defence Force could not dislodge the Hamas terrorist group even after killing over 400,000 Palestinians and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was only removed from power after 100,000 Iraqis were killed.

Hussein was removed from power following the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, which toppled his regime. He was captured by US forces in December 2003 and subsequently faced trial for crimes against humanity, leading to his execution in 2006.

Nicholas said, "The Mexican border is the main entry point for illegal drugs entering the USA from South and Central America not the Venezuelan border."

The Trump administration, he continued, has been clear that its aim is regime change in Venezuela.

Nicholas said, "History is clear as to the USA’s aims in oil and gas giants like Venezuela."

The rhetoric of bringing democracy, he continued, has been used conveniently but inconsistently over decades.

He said in recent times, the US has shown that it has no moral authority to speak on issues of democracy or law and order both domestically and internationally.

"As a small island state, we must understand that our strength comes from reliable partners with common interests."

A former TT high commissioner to the UK, Nicholas said the UK's recent visa imposition and the US' 15 per cent tariffs on TT and other utterances have shown neither country "to be the kind of partners we can rely on."

TT, he continued, should not readily abandon its closest allies "to appease those who would easily discard us."

Nicholas said, "We should seek to strengthen our relationship with dependable allies and build on our global network of alliances to ensure we spread our eggs around diverse baskets."

He added, "Now if we are serious about reducing crime, strengthening our economy and preserving peace, there are many well-established global precedents that we can draw from."

Nicholas said, "We desperately need to strengthen our law-enforcement, social services, community development, health and education institutions.

Another former PP government minister, Stephen Cadiz, expressed a similar view.

In a separate post, Cadiz doubted local law enforcement was capable of fighting drug cartels without being compromised in some way.

"It therefore stands to reason that we will need outside help that has not been compromised."

But Cadiz said history showed the US did not have a nice experience in becoming involved in Central American and Caribbean countries.

He questioned the reason for the US naval deployment close to Venezuela.

"What exactly is the US Fleet doing offshore our neighbours is up for grabs. With the US these days one never knows their real purpose."

Former national security minister Gary Griffith, however, says TT has more to offer the US when it comes to regional security.

In a WhatsApp video, Griffith said, "TT has a lot more to offer the US other than just rent free access to our territorial land and waters."

In December 2024, TT and the US signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which allows military-to-military engagement between the countries.

Persad-Bissessar and Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers said the US had not made a request under the SOFA to access TT's territory for any military activity.

Griffith recalled during his tenure as national security minister under the former UNC-led People's Partnership government from May 2010-September 2015, there were conversations with the US Southern Command about intelligence co-operation with TT on security matters.

Griffith said the deployment of US naval vessels to the southern Caribbean to deal with any kind of transnational crime was nothing new.

On Guyana, Griffith expected all Caricom countries to support that country, "if at any time there is the hint of infiltration or invasion in any attempt to attack or seize assets from Guyana from any country."

Persad-Bissessar said TT would grant the US access to its territory if Venezuela made any incursion into Guyana and the US wished to intervene militarily.