The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine will visit Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, the US Embassy has announced.
It said that Caine will meet with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and that the ‘visit will focus on the two nations’ strong bi-lateral relationship, strengthening regional stability, and regional unity on the vital importance of countering illicit trafficking and transnational criminal organizations’. Caine is the 22nd chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the US’s highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council.
Prior to becoming Chairman on April 11, 2025, General Caine was the Associate Director for Military Affairs at Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
His visit here comes as the United States President Donald Trump has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea ordering an amphibious squadron to the southern Caribbean as part of his effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels.
A nuclear-powered attack submarine, additional P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser have also being allocated to US Southern Command as part of the mission. In addition, the US largest carrier, the Gerald Forde has joined the build-up
But the United States military has been bombing vessels in the international waters claiming that the occupants were drug traffickers without offering any evidence of such activity.
The United Nations UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also strongly condemned the airstrikes carried out by the United States against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Volker Trk said in a statement that the strikes ‘violate international human rights law’, demanding that they be stopped immediately.
Last month, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that regional leaders had discussed several issues on the regional agenda, including the security build-up in parts of the Caribbean and its potential impact on member states.
It said that the position at that meeting was not endorsed by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro has accused Washington of seeking a regime change in his country with its naval deployment in the Caribbean, saying ‘they are seeking a regime change through military threat.
‘Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years. A situation like this has never been seen,’ Maduro added.
On Monday, Venezuela rejected the US terrorist designation of an alleged drug cartel on its territory as a ‘ridiculous lie’ aimed at paving the way for an ‘illegitimate’ United States military intervention.
‘Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous lie from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who designates the alleged Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organisation. to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela,’ Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Maduro has also accused Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar of assisting Washington in carrying out its plans.