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The USS Gravely, a US naval warship, is currently docked at the Port of Port of Spain on a five-day visit to TT for training exercises. The warship is expected to leave the country on October 30. - Photo by Lincoln HolderTHE US naval vessel USS Gravely arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on October 26 for a joint training exercise with the TT Defence Force.
Escorted by two tug boats and Coast Guard vessels, the boat docked at around 9.30 this morning at the port in Port of Spain.
The warship will be in TT for five days as part of the training exercise which ends on October 30.
Members of the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit are expected to be on board and will participate in the exercise.
The boat's arrival comes amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and the US.
So far, the US has claimed that its military has attacked and destroyed 11 vessels in regional waters, killing 49 alleged drug traffickers in the process.
The USS Gravely is a part of the US naval force in regional waters since early September that has carried out the attacks.
US president Donald Trump has labelled regional drug traffickers and their organisations as "narco terrorists."
Trump has since announced that he has approved covert military operations in Venezuela and is considering US military to attack land targets associated with drug trafficking in the region as well.
TT Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has welcomed the presence of the US Navy in the region and the USS Gravely's visit to the country.
Persad-Bissessar has praised the US military's efforts, including the bombings, against drug traffickers in the region that she insists is not a zone of peace. She has said all drug traffickers should be "killed violently."
English (US) ·