As the Trump administration intensified its military build-up in the Caribbean, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its carrier air wing, to the Caribbean in aid of what the administration says is its counter-drug initiative.
‘The enhanced US force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,’ wrote spokesman Sean Parnell on X, referring to the US military headquarters in Miami, Florida, known as the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which overseas US military operations in South and Central America and the Caribbean. AOR is short for Area of Responsibility.
‘These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs,’ he added, alluding to Transnational Criminal Organisations.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is currently deployed in the Mediterranean.
In recent times, the Trump administration has deployed several warships and over 10,000 troops to the Caribbean in what pundits claim is a pretext for an eventual land invasion of Venezuela.
Earlier this month, Trump confirmed that he had permitted the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to spy on Venezuela.
The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs said in a statement on Thursday that the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, will be docked in Port-of-Spain, the Trinidad and Tobago capital, from October 26 to 30.
During that time, the ministry also said that the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) will conduct joint training exercises.
‘The visit strengthens US-Trinidad and Tobago military-to-military cooperation through expert exchanges focused on core infantry tactics, maintenance procedures, and advanced medical capabilities, leveraging the TTDF’s facilities to enhance tactical proficiency and enhance mutual trust,’ the statement said.
Amid the US military build-up in the Caribbean, a Vincentian diplomat in the US is urging that the Caribbean remain a Zone of Peace.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States, Rondy ‘Luta’ McIntosh, expressed profound concern while addressing an Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving in Brooklyn, New York, commemorating St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ 46th Anniversary of Political Independence from Great Britain.
McIntosh said St. Vincent and the Grenadines marks its milestone with ‘a profound sense of hope but also heightened awareness of the global and regional threats that surround us.
‘Our region – the Caribbean – is now facing growing military tensions and geopolitical rivalries that threaten the long-standing tradition of peace in our hemisphere,’ he said. ‘These developments are sobering. And they call us, as a sovereign people, to be both vigilant and prayerful. We must not take peace for granted.
‘In this moment, I urge all of us – at home and in the Diaspora – to come together in fervent prayer; prayer for the continued safety and sovereignty of our nation and our neighbors; prayer for wisdom among our leaders and diplomats as they navigate complex and dangerous global waters; prayer for peace, even in the face of provocation,’ McIntosh added.
‘Let us boldly declare, with faith and unity, that our Caribbean must remain a Zone of Peace – a region not of warships and weapons, but of dialogue, diplomacy and dignity,’ he continued, also praying for nationals in the November 4 Mayoral Elections in New York City.
On October 18, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said
Heads of Government met and discussed various issues on the regional agenda, including the increased security build-up in the Caribbean and the potential impacts on Member States.
Save in respect of Trinidad and Tobago, which reserved its position, CARICOM said Heads of Government ‘reaffirmed the principle of maintaining the Caribbean Region as a Zone of Peace and the importance of dialogue and engagement towards the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflict.
‘CARICOM remains willing to assist towards that objective,’ the statement said.
It said CARICOM Heads of Government reiterated their continued commitment to fighting narcotrafficking and the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons, ‘which adversely affect the region.
‘They underscored that efforts to overcome these challenges should be through ongoing international cooperation and within international law,’ the statement said.
‘They reaffirmed unequivocal support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region and the safety and livelihoods of the people of the region,’ it added.
On October 17, US Senators Tim Kaine, Democratic of Virginia, a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, Rand Paul, Republic of Kentucky, and Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, introduced a War Powers Resolution that would block the use of US Armed Forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela, following reporting that the Trump administration is considering land strikes inside that country.
‘I’m extremely troubled that the Trump administration is considering launching illegal military strikes inside Venezuela without a specific authorisation by Congress. Americans don’t want to send their sons and daughters into more wars-especially wars that carry a serious risk of significant destabilisation and massive new waves of migration in our hemisphere,’ said Kaine. ‘If my colleagues disagree and think a war with Venezuela is a good idea, they need to meet their constitutional obligations by making their case to the American people and passing an Authorisation for Use of Military Force.
‘I urge every senator to join us in stopping this Administration from dragging our country into an unauthorised and escalating military conflict,’ Kaine added.
Paul said that ‘the American people do not want to be dragged into endless war with Venezuela without public debate or a vote.
‘We ought to defend what the Constitution demands: deliberation before war,’ he said.
Schiff said the Trump administration has ‘made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders, and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean.
‘In recent weeks, we have seen increasingly concerning movements and reporting that undermine claims that this is merely about stopping drug smugglers,’ he said. ‘Congress has not authorised military force against Venezuela. And we must assert our authority to stop the United States from being dragged-intentionally or accidentally-into full-fledged war in South America.’
Kaine noted that War Powers Resolutions are privileged, meaning that the Senate will be required to promptly consider and vote upon the resolution.
The October 17 resolution came shortly after Kaine and Schiff introduced a similar measure focused on repeated strikes in the southern Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration has carried out without congressional authorisation, killing dozens of unknown individuals.
The legislation did not gain enough Republican support for passage.
Paul and Republican Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, had voted with nearly all Democrats in favour of the resolution.
Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman had joined Republicans in opposing the measure.
Speaking on the US Senate floor on Thursday, Schiff detailed the top 10 ways he said President Donald J. Trump has put America ‘on the road toward one-man rule’, including ‘the misuse of the military in our communities and overseas.’
‘I think there are any number of signs of when a democracy is in trouble, when a country is descending into a kind of dictatorship. And books have been written about this subject. No one account, I think, can comprise all of the elements of the deterioration of a democracy,’ Schiff said. ‘But there are certain telltale signs that I think we are seeing all too clearly. And my question goes to some of the things that we are witnessing that I think are hallmarks of the decline of a democracy, and that ought to be sounding a three-alarm fire for the American people.
‘First, is the misuse of the military at home and abroad – the misuse of the military abroad without the authorisation of Congress,’ Schiff added. ‘Another sign of deterioration of our democracy, when a president arrogates to himself the power to blow ships up in the Caribbean or now in the Pacific without any authority, in violation of law and the Constitution.
‘It is another sign of the president arrogating the military power to himself, to the person of himself, not to the Constitution, not to his core responsibilities, but to himself,’ he continued.