Military devise ‘war’ plans after call-out – Troops stand down

In this file photo, local soldiers take part in a training exercise with French military commandos in Martinique in July. - TTDF

MILITARY COMMANDERS have devised three specific courses of action to be taken in the event of any land strikes involving US forces and neighbouring Venezuela.

This follows a mandatory call-out of thousands of active soldiers, sailors and other personnel on October 31 to report for duty by 6 pm and a subsequent lockdown of all military installations.

Around 11.15 pm on October 31, military leaders gave instructions to stand down the heightened alert level and officers who were not rostered to work were allowed to return to their respective homes.

However, three teams, described as QRF (quick reaction force) have been assigned to respond to any emergency and deployed to strategic locations, as part of a larger operation which remains in motion in the event of any military action in Venezuela, a senior military officer said.

Senior officers said the directive to call out active duty officers and put those on leave on standby was triggered by international news reports that the US was poised to strike Venezuela, a claim later denied by US President Donald Trump and the White House.

Trump has previously said that he has authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and, more recently, said his administration will carry out strikes against drug-related targets inside Venezuela.

The combination of a motion to extend the state of emergency for three months being debated in Parliament, media reports of an imminent strike to Venezuela, sparked a wave of anxiety in some parts of the country with some schools ending earlier and private businesses shutting their doors.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar later called for calm, vowing to keep the public informed of any major developments.

Persad-Bissessar has endorsed the US military strikes against narco-traffickers in the last eight weeks, which have left 61 people dead in 14 strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.

A senior military officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the call to duty was taken seriously by officers who arrived in droves to military encampments at Camp La Romaine, Camp Cumuto, Camp Ogden, Long Circular, Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas, Air Guard in Piarco, Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas and Signal Hill, in Tobago.

"All the camps were full to capacity," the officer said.

Even before ground troops arrived at their respective bases, senior commanders met at Defence Force Headquarters in Chaguaramas to assess operational intelligence. Another meeting followed with other senior officers for a command brief.

Among the matters discussed, according to one insider, were the military assets of both the US and Venezuela and their locations.

Senior officers said several scenarios were played out in the event of any escalation of military action by the US or retaliation by Venezuela and appropriate plans were formed to deal with the existing threat, which includes the migration of Venezuelan nationals fleeing the conflict zone.

"We have a responsbility to keep them in a holding area and attend to the wounded, but at the same time, we don't want a situation that causes harm in our own population," one officer said.