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Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers. - Photo by Lincoln HolderTHE United States Southern Command (Southcom), the arm of the US military now responsible for carrying out president Donald Trump's offensive against narco trafficking in the region, has been identified as one of the entities helping Trinidad and Tobago send relief to Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.
The storm devastated the country after making landfall on October 28. Relief supplies and manpower are pouring into the island from all over the country.
In a post-cabinet meeting at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's on October 30, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers named the military force as one of the stakeholders in TT’s relief efforts.
“If I’m not mistaken we’ve also liaised with some aspects of Southcom so that they will provide us with some assistance to move personnel to Jamaica as well as heavy equipment such as generators and water tanks.”
The announcement came after the Prime Minister earlier oversaw the shipment of relief items to Jamaica after the hurricane.
In August, US officials confirmed the military deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers off Venezuela as part of US president Donald Trump’s efforts to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels.
The USS Gravely, a US naval vessel that has been part of that country's military presence in the region for the last few months, sailed out of Port of Spain on October 30 after a five-day visit to TT. It is not clear whether the Gravely is a part of TT's effort to assist Jamaica.
Government says the ship and its crew conducted training exercises with the local Defence Force.
The presence of the Southcom forces in the region has resulted in 14 strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing 61 people.
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