11 hours ago
2
Senior Reporter
Regional security expert Dr Garvin Heerah says with United States warships bound for the region with a mandate to tackle drug cartels in neighbouring Venezuela, the Government must now strategise on the next step should things get worse.
Heerah yesterday said while the presence of naval ships in the region was not new, the tension between Venezuela and the US may cause some to be concerned. With that, he said, the leaders should have a plan should the routine presence change to a conflict zone.
“There are consequences when it’s related to a conflict zone, especially if there is some sort of action or what we call activities related to the assembling of the forces. That is my concern. That is not necessarily one of fear or one that needs to be escalated into panic or anxiety, but it is also a concern for our decision makers, our researchers, the strategists of Homeland Security and Defence,” Heerah said.
“I am hoping that at this time, there are some exploratory conditions, and we are looking at what-if situations and how we should be acting as a country in the event that this thing goes left or right.”
After the announcement that naval ships were deployed to this region, Venezuela has been enlisting people in the country’s militia, in the event a need arises to defend their land.
The combination of events raised concerns that conflict may erupt. Heerah said this should be looked at objectively.
“The geopolitics of it all is that there is a lot of stuff happening in the background with regard to oil and gas and then the economy of the world, and we have to understand where the role that Venezuela plays in that sort of production and provision and we also have to understand all of the key players and button pushers of the world and the interest in oil and gas and energy.”
Meanwhile, former national security minister Gary Griffith said there may be some benefit to the country should conflict arise.
“If, and I say if, there is some concern by the United States that warrants armed conflict with other countries that can be to the benefit of our country in dealing with combating narcotrafficking and even assisting our Caricom neighbours, Guyana, for example, in defending their sovereignty, Trinidad and Tobago has a lot more to offer the United States other than just rent-free access to our territorial land and waters,” Griffith said.
Like Heerah, Griffith said naval ships in the region is nothing new.
And while the Prime Minister said each country in Caricom should stand on its own as it pertains to the warships in the region, Griffith said the region should now stand together.
“I would expect now, as we did then for Haiti, that every Caricom country to also fully support Guyana 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. We should not posture ourselves at this time to be wetting our own houses whilst our neighbour’s own is on fire, as ours could very well be next. I think this is a time we will need to circle the wagons and show solidarity.”
English (US) ·