6 days ago
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A radar system installed by the US at the ANR Robinson International Airport in Crown Point. - Photo by Alva Viarruel ALVA VIARRUEL
VISITOR arrivals in Tobago are dropping with the imminent threat of land strikes by the United States on Venezuelan targets, and tourism stakeholders are now demanding compensation from those responsible for bringing wartime anxiety to the island.
This view was expressed by the president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, Reginald MacLean.
“Having a radar here and (US military) people here makes us a target now, and I’m going to be real in saying that. Tourists are not going to flow as they started to book, and we’re now having cancellations, so if that happens, who’s going to compensate the people of Tobago?” MacLean stated.
The military-grade radar system has been erected on the eastern end of a fenced-off area at the ANR International Airport and seemed to be operational, as it swivelled 360 degrees, on November 29.
US imposes no-fly zone
The threat to tourism was elevated on November 29, after US President Donald Trump posted a warning on his Truth Social platform to alert pilots and airmen that the US was declaring Venezuela a no-fly zone. The Federal Aviation Administration, however, did not issue a Notice to Air Missions statement as it did two weeks ago. Nonetheless, online aircraft trackers showed on November 29 that almost all airlines are avoiding Venezuelan airspace.
The statement from Trump caused panic on local social media channels, where the chatter suggested the no-fly zone included Trinidad and Tobago.
This prompted Defence Minister Wayne Sturge to issue a statement to shoot down those reports.
Sturge described the flurry of social media posts as “misinformation” and “fearmongering being created by politically aligned social media influencers whose agenda is to create chaos and instability.”
Urging the public to ignore the chatter, the statements said: “The Ministry of Defence, under whose responsibility falls control of the airspace and territorial waters of Trinidad and Tobago, wishes to assure the travelling public that Commercial Airlines, both local, regional, and international, continue to operate flights into and out of our airspace without hindrance and will continue to do so.”
“Please be advised that the Ministry of Defence undertakes to ensure the public that there will be official timely communication whenever the need arises.”
In response, Venezuela issued a statement denouncing and condemning the threat that intends to affect the sovereignty of its airspace, which it said was "constituting this a new extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the people of Venezuela."
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela repudiates with absolute force the public message spread today on social networks by the President of the United States, in which he intends to apply extraterritorially the illegitimate jurisdiction of the United States in Venezuela by unusually trying to give orders and threaten the sovereignty of space national aviation, territorial integrity, aeronautical security and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan State."
Bad season for Tobago
As far as Tobago hoteliers and restaurateurs are concerned, however, the rumours of war are bad for business.
MacLean said members of the association have confirmed cancellations on various properties, but he could not quantify the loss.
At Blue Waters Inn, which he manages, when the conflict between the US and Venezuela erupted just over two months ago, bookings were at 76 per cent. It dropped to 42 per cent and picked back up to 58 per cent, and now he expects it to plummet once again.
“Now that we have the (US) radar (system) presenting a little different situation, I suspect we’re going to get a lot more cancellations…We’ve had a very bad season in Tobago because of all the states of emergencies. Now we’re losing business because of this…Tobago cannot afford for two seasons in a row to be bad, especially coming out of the covid lockdowns, so some sort of payment has to be made by the US government to us for this,” he said.
MacLean said it was “atrocious” for the Chief Secretary not to be a member of the National Security Council.
He felt it “should be mandated”, and the law changed to make this happen so that decisions regarding Tobago can be forthcoming.
He admitted to having “mixed feelings” about the military radar system being stationed at the ANR International Airport in Crown Point.
“I want to see crime come down in TT, and what is killing us is the organised crime with drugs, human trafficking, trafficking in body parts and contraband. So if what the US is going to do will help TT, I have no problem with that, because Caricom is at a loss to understand our proximity to Venezuela and what that seven-mile proximity does to our country. They don’t understand that at all.”
Augustine said on November 26 that he did not support the installation of radar equipment in Tobago and requested information from the Prime Minister.
Persad-Bissessar said on November 27 the radar deployed by US troops was meant to improve "our surveillance and intelligence we gather...(to deal with) narco traffickers in our waters and outside our waters."
The following day, she elaborated in a WhatsApp comment to Newsday, saying the radar system is intended for real-time monitoring and surveillance of TT's air and sea space.
She said the Chief Secretary was not informed about the installation before it happened because he was not a member of the National Security Council, which she chairs.
Persad-Bissessar said the radar, on loan from the US, will be used solely for monitoring and securing TT's territory and not "for use in any action in Venezuela."
Electronic disturbances
In reporting Trump's post, media outlet TeleSur reported that electronic disturbances had increased in recent weeks, coinciding with the largest-ever US naval presence in the Caribbean.
This interference has reportedly made the airspace impassable for standard satellite navigation (GNSS/GPS).
These measures are said to be part of a broader strategy by the US to ramp up pressure on Venezuela's government, including growing threats of a ground military operation.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already warned airlines about a potentially hazardous situation when flying over Venezuela.
In a notice on November 21, the FAA highlighted the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.
Earlier this week, the Venezuelan government warned airlines that cancelled routes to and from the country following the US warning of a "potentially dangerous situation" that they had 48 hours to resume operations.
Reports are that if flights do not resume by then, their permits will be revoked.
In response, on November 27, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged Venezuelan authorities to reconsider revoking the operating permits of several international airlines serving the country.
A statement from IATA said the airlines in question have temporarily suspended flights to and from Venezuela following the issuance of air safety alerts by the governments of the US and Spain.
The statement said, "Airlines have prioritised the protection of passengers and crew members, avoiding flights in high-risk areas."
IATA is the trade association for the world's airlines, representing 350 airlines that account for 80 per cent of global air traffic.
Deadly military action
In the last three months, a total of 83 people, accused of being involved in drug trafficking at sea, have been killed in 21 missile strikes by the US military in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.
In August, the US government announced a US$50 million reward for information leading to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrest recently named Maduro as the leader of Cartel de los Soles, a drug trafficking organisation.
The Venezuelan government has denied the US claim that Maduro is a “narco-terrorist” who has been engineering the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans by flooding the country with fentanyl and other narcotics.
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