Government grants approval for US military flights into and out of Trinidad and Tobago

The ANR Robinson International Airport, Crown Point, Tobago. - Ayanna Kinsale

GOVERNMENT has granted approval for US military flights into and out of the Piarco and ANR Robinson International airports in the coming weeks.

Government also repeated one of several positions it has maintained since the US began its military deployment in August, that these flights are part of the commitment made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to collaborate with the US to ensure safety and security for Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the Caribbean.

These statements by government come one week, after the release of the US National Security 2025, published in November by the White House, and signed by US President Donald Trump.

In the document, the US outlines its plan to "reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region."

Trinidad and Tobago is part of the hemisphere by its geographical location in the Caribbean.

The US said this is being done after "years of neglect."

The US adds, "We will deny non-hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our hemisphere."

This strategy is defined in the document as the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine.

It is also described as a common-sense and potent restoration of American power and priorities, consistent with American security interests.

The US said its goals for the hemisphere are to enlist and expand.

"We will enlist established friends in the hemisphere to control migration, stop drug flows, and strengthen stability and security on land and sea."

In a statement on December 15, the Foreign and Caricom Affairs Ministry said it has given approvals for "US military aircraft to transit Trinidad and Tobago's airports in the coming weeks. The ministry added, "The US has advised that these movements are logistical in nature, facilitating replenishment and routine personnel rotations."

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers repeated this is part of the ongoing close engagement the ministry maintains with the US Embassy in Port of Spain. He also repeated Persad-Bissessar "has affirmed government's commitment to cooperation and collaboration in the pursuit of safety and security for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region."

The ministry repeated through government's collaboration with the US, Trinidad and Tobago has benefitted from "joint military training exercises, enhanced surveillance capabilities, including the installation of an effective radar system and collaborative efforts that have contributed to the interdiction of millions of dollars worth of illegal narcotics."

Within the last two months, members of the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) have twice held joint exercises with members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) and the guided missile destroyer USS Gravely has visited Trinidad and Tobago.

The US began its military deployment in the southern Caribbean, outside of Venezuela's territorial waters, with the Gravely and two other guided missile destroyers – USS Jason Dunham and Sampson.

The US force in the region has since grown to include the nuclear attack submarine USS Newport News, amphibious assault vessels, special forces command vessels, the MEU and the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group.

The AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system was established at the Arthur NR Robinson International Airport by US Marines in November. Persad-Bissessar only disclosed the existence of the radar when on November 27, when questioned by the media about the presence of US troops in TT.

Outside of the Red House on November 26, Persad-Bissessar said, "They (US Marines) are helping us with something to do at the (ANR Robinson International) airport."

She added their presence had something to do with a roadway near the airport."

Subsequently after a laptop distribution ceremony at the Penal Secondary School on November 27, Persad-Bissessar said, "The plan there is the runway and a radar. They will help us to improve our surveillance and intelligence we gather...the narco traffickers in our waters and outside our waters."

In August, the US approached Grenada for permission to use the Maurice Bishop International Airport to house military radar that could monitor both commercial and military flights in the southern Caribbean.

Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has said his government is working with an undisclosed deadline from the US but will not be hurried into deciding on such an important issue.

Persad-Bissessar has rejected questions raised by the Opposition PNM about the reasons why the military radar was established in Tobago, repeating claims of alleged ties between the PNM and drug cartels. Opposition Leader and PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles has rejected those claims.

The G/ATOR system is a three-dimensional, medium/long-range multi-role radar designed to detect unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, air-breathing targets, rockets, artillery, and mortars

On December 11 at a CXC awards ceremony in Port of Spain, Persad-Bissessar credited the radar's reported role in helping police seize $171 million marijuana in an unmanned boat in the Caroni Swamp. In a subsequent Facebook post on December 12, she indicated she held talks with US Embassy officials before the ceremony about "our continued co-operation in the fight against crime."

In August, Persad-Bissessar said Trinidad and Tobago was prepared to allow US troops to operate on its territory if Venezuela made any incursion into Guyana and the US made a formal request to government under the SOFA (Status of Forces) agreement that was signed with the US in December 2024 under the former PNM administration.

The SOFA allows bilateral military co-operation between Trinidad and Tobago and US.Venezuela and Guyana have had an ongoing dispute over the Essequibo border region between them for decades.

Persad-Bissessar has publicly differed with other Caricom leaders such as Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves about the US military deployment in the Caribbean and the Caribbean being regarded as a zone of peace.