US, T&T agree to military deals

A week after the United States and the Trinidadian government had signed several bilateral military to military agreements, locals are still demanding details of the deals in the wake of media reports that some will allow American troop presence in Trinidad to monitor regional political developments, charges that Prime Minister Keith Rowley has sternly denied.

Mid last week, a clearly angry Rowley turned up at a post cabinet press conference to denounce a Newsday newspaper report that had suggested that the deal was struck with the Florida-based US Southern Command to have a military presence to monitor political and other developments in nearby Venezuela and other left-leaning nations.

Describing Trinidad and Tobago as a sovereign nation with no major political issues with Venezuela to worry about, Rowley flatly denied the publication’s implications but provided no details about the agreement, sparking calls for the same from some political leaders.

The report, he said, had “serious implications for Trinidad. I am not discussing the agreement, I am simply saying that your interpretation of the agreement, that the United States can put troops in Trinidad and Tobago, is not what this is about. I’m simply saying that your interpretation is wrong. We don’t have a volatile relationship with Venezuela and we also have a very good relationship with the United States. We operate as an independent country free to make our own foreign policy and treat with our associates as our national interests dictate. What has changed to cause Trinidad and Tobago to be a platform for foreign troops on its territory in response to a Venezuelan situation?” he asked.

But this week, well known labor and political leader David Abdullah argued that the lack of transparency by authorities will allow for speculation, adding that one of the agreements, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) can indeed allow the US to interpret the deals in its own way, for its own purposes. The signing, he said, was “a total betrayal of our national sovereignty and our dignity as a nation. This situation is very dangerous. It opens the door for us to be subject to US troops. Who knows what the US interpretation will be? One of the things that is allowed for is US military personnel to come in here, bring in arms and whatever other military equipment they may wish to bring in. So, it’s not just a ship entering T&T on a visit, but they could actually come onshore bringing whatever arms and military equipment and spy equipment and technological equipment and telecommunication equipment,” he told reporters.

Abdullah, leader of the politically miniscule Movement for Social Justice, even suggested that the US might be positioning itself to take action against politically troublesome nations in the hemisphere, including Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia and Honduras as the Trump administration prepares to take office.

Meanwhile, former prime minister and opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar also lashed out at the lack of transparency surrounding the agreements as she urged the cabinet to release details.”I find it preposterous that you have a new (US) government coming in and you are signing documents.” She also suggested that the deals be made public so the nation can be “fully aware of what it is we signed.” This is as pressure mounts on Rowley to be transparent.