Former Trinidad AG warns PM: Don’t ‘abandon’ CARICOM for the US

Former Trinidad Attorney General Garvin Nicholas and the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) have sharply criticized Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s announcement that Trinidad and Tobago fully supports the deployment of U.S. military assets to the Caribbean.

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In a weekend statement, Persad-Bissessar said the government “has not engaged and has no intention of engaging” CARICOM on the matter and added that if Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro launched an attack against Guyana, her government would provide U.S. forces with access to Trinidadian territory. She argued that “Trinidad and Tobago has been helplessly drowning in blood and violence for the last 20 years.”

Nicholas, who served as Attorney General from 2010 to 2015, countered, saying, “As a small island state, we must understand that our strength comes from reliable partners with common interests. We should not readily abandon our closest allies to appease those who would easily discard us.”

He questioned the effectiveness of a military solution, adding: “The undisputed reality is that there is no military in history, nor will there be in the future, that can bomb drug cartels or gangs out of existence… The USA couldn’t eliminate the Taliban in Afghanistan by bombing them, nor could the IDF destroy Hamas, and over 100,000 civilians were killed to remove Saddam Hussein from Iraq.”

Nicholas also pointed to strategic considerations, noting, “The Mexican border is the main entry point for illegal drugs into the USA from South and Central America, not Venezuela. The Trump regime has been clear that its aim is regime change in Venezuela. History is clear as to the USA’s aims in oil and gas giants like Venezuela.”

The MSJ echoed Nicholas’ concerns, describing the situation as “a shameful and sad day for Trinidad and Tobago.” The group criticized the justification that the deployment targets “terrorist drug cartels,” saying, “The nature and size of the U.S. military assets are for offensive purposes, not drug interdiction… Destroyers with guided cruise missiles are meant to take out military targets; amphibious vessels are designed to land troops. What is the military target? Where are the 4,000 troops to be landed?”

The MSJ also warned that the deployment could constitute a naval blockade of Venezuela, “which is contrary to international law,” and urged the Prime Minister to clarify who exactly the U.S. military is targeting and in which country.

Nicholas concluded, “As a small island state, we must 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.”