Trinidad and Tobago Opens Airports to U.S. Military Amid Venezuela Tensions

Trinidad and Tobago will allow the U.S. military access to its airports for logistical operations, escalating tensions with neighboring Venezuela. The move follows the installation of a U.S. radar system in Tobago, officially framed as part of crime-fighting efforts. Trinidad’s government emphasized the arrangement is limited to supply and personnel support, not military aggression. However, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez responded by canceling all gas deals with Trinidad and accusing its government of complicity in recent U.S. military actions, including the seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar dismissed the accusations as propaganda and reaffirmed peaceful intentions. The geopolitical friction highlights growing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, aimed at pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Critics within Trinidad warned the agreement makes the country a “satellite state,” raising ethical and diplomatic concerns. A previously approved joint venture with Shell to develop Venezuelan offshore gas fields is now uncertain, as regional relations continue to unravel.

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Source: AP News