U.S. warship docks in Trinidad and Tobago, adding pressure on Venezuela
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
- The USS Gravely arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday as the Trump administration escalates military pressure on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.
- The guided missile destroyer will remain through Thursday for joint training exercises, the U.S. said.
- Local activists and the regional trade bloc Caricom have criticized the military deployment, calling for dialogue instead of military posturing near Venezuela.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago — A U.S. warship docked in Trinidad and Tobago’s capital Sunday as the Trump administration boosts military pressure on neighboring Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro.
The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation adds to the U.S. aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, which is heading toward Venezuela. Maduro criticized the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the U.S government to fabricate “a new eternal war” against his country.
President Trump has accused Maduro, without providing evidence, of being the leader of the organized crime gang Tren de Aragua.
Government officials from the twin-island nation and the U.S. said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises.
A senior military official in Trinidad and Tobago told the Associated Press that the move was only recently scheduled. The official spoke under condition of anonymity, citing lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.
Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military presence and the deadly strikes on alleged drug boats in waters off Venezuela.
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz said in a statement that the exercises seek to “address shared threats like transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions, and security efforts.”
The visit comes one week after the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago warned Americans to stay away from U.S. government facilities there. Local authorities said a reported threat against Americans prompted the warning.
Many people in Trinidad and Tobago criticize the warship’s docking in town.
At a recent demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, David Abdulah, the leader of the Movement for Social Justice political party, said Trinidad and Tobago should not have allowed the warship into its waters.
“This is a warship in Trinidad, which will be anchored here for several days just miles off Venezuela when there’s a threat of war,” Abdulah said. “That’s an abomination.”
Caricom, a regional trade bloc made up of 15 Caribbean countries, has called for dialogue. Trinidad and Tobago is a member of the group, but Persad-Bissessar has said the region is not a zone of peace, citing the number of homicides and other violent crimes.
Gibbs writes for the Associated Press.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In 2005, there was no bigger show in L.A. than USC football. The players were household names, celebrities crowded the sidelines, and the wins kept piling up — until Texas came to town.
California once bet big on offshore wind to help power its clean-energy future, but the Trump administration is now paying developers billions to walk away from their projects. As California’s remaining offshore-wind leases hang in the balance, the state is fighting back in court.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
