UPDATE TRINIDAD-Government gives green light for US military aircraft to transit local airspace.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former CARICOM and Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Amery Browne, has described as “deceptive” a statement issued by the Trinidad and Tobago government on Monday indicating that it had approved for United States military aircraft to transit the local airspace “in the coming weeks”.

“The United States has advised that these movements are logistical in nature, facilitating supply replenishment and routine personnel relations,” the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs said in a statement.

But, speaking on a local radio station, Browne told listeners that “this was a very deceptive media release by the government today.

“Never before has our country given blanket permission for unspecified foreign military aircraft to use the airports and airspace of Trinidad and Tobago in the build-up to a regime change war. There is nothing routine about this,” Browne told radio listeners, adding “this has nothing to do with the usual cooperation, friendly collaborations that we have enjoyed for decades with the USA and all our neighbours”.

He said that the government’s statement “takes Trinidad and Tobago a further step down the path of a satellite state, which has dismissed CARICOM and international law and embraced a might-is-right philosophy.”

Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Sean Sobers said the government is maintaining “close engagement” with the US Embassy here, adding that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar “has affirmed the government’s commitment to cooperation and collaboration in the pursuit of safety and security for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region.

“We welcome the continued support for the United States,” he added.

Prime Minister Persaud-Bissessar has, over the past few months, backed the United States military operation in the Caribbean as part of its drug-eradication programme, despite political observers and Venezuela itself saying that Washington aims to effect regime change in Caracas and remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.

Persad-Bissessar’s position is at variance with the rest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has insisted that the region be maintained as a zone of peace, even while supporting Washington’s efforts to deal with the illegal drug trade.

In its statement, the Ministry of CARICOM and Foreign Affairs said that through its ongoing partnership with the United States, Trinidad and Tobago has benefitted from joint military training exercises, enhanced surveillance capabilities, including the installation of an effective radar system, and collaborative efforts that have contributed to the interdiction of millions of dollars’ worth of illegal narcotics.

It said that the embassy here has also been engaged in supporting national development through educational initiatives.

Browne said that for the past six months, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar “has refused to address this nation and properly explain what she has done to our neutral foreign policy and our standing in the region and the world.