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The nuclear-powered US navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford - The Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), a key ally of the UNC government, is supporting a vigil for peace, which suggests that the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace.
The vigil, organised by eight local civil society groups, is scheduled to be held at Woodford Square, Port of Spain, on November 9, from 5 to 7 pm.
Since September 2, a total of 70 people suspected of being involved in narco-trafficking have been killed in US strikes in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, while travelling in pirogues and in one case a semi-submersible.
In a media release issued on November 7, JTUM declared its full endorsement of the event, warning that military escalation in the region would have disastrous consequences for the Caribbean and particularly for TT, which could find itself “on the frontline.”
“JTUM is of the clear view that nobody wins a war and therefore supports the need for peace in the Caribbean region,” the statement read. “Indeed, JTUM has always stood by the position that the entire Caribbean must be a zone of peace.” Caricom countries, with the exception of TT, support that position.
The union, an umbrella body that represents thousands of workers across the country, said the anxiety among citizens about the possibility of conflict “will negatively impact productivity and investment and threaten the progress and development that this country is now poised to achieve.”
“For there to be progress and to realise the aspirations of a better life for our citizens, there is a need for stability and peace,” JTUM said.
The UNC government, led by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has aligned itself with US President Donald Trump’s administration and its increased military presence in the southern Caribbean. Officials have described the deployment as part of a regional security initiative aimed at countering drug trafficking and protecting democratic institutions.
However, critics – including the organisers of the vigil and now JTUM – argue that the growing US military presence near Venezuelan waters poses a direct threat to regional peace and stability.
By joining civil society’s call for restraint, JTUM’s position appears to differ sharply from the government’s foreign policy approach, which has so far been supportive of US actions in the region.
The vigil’s organisers – among them the Emancipation Support Committee, Movement for Social Justice, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, and Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women – say their initiative is a non-partisan effort to mobilise public concern over what they describe as “the very real possibility of a war taking place on our doorstep.”
They note that US deployments now include destroyers with guided missiles, a nuclear submarine, amphibious craft, and an aircraft carrier, and over 10,000 troops believed to be stationed in the region.
“Silence is not an option,” the organisers said in a previous statement. “Any military conflict that breaks out in Venezuela will result in mass migration to TT, affect our economy and investor confidence, and disrupt employment and trade.”
They stressed that their call was humanitarian, not political: “This is not about whether we agree with the leaders of a country or its politics. This is about humanity.”
JTUM’s endorsement of the vigil underscores a widening chorus within TT calling for the Caribbean to remain a zone of peace.
English (US) ·