Trinidad & Tobago faces high-stakes gamble in support of the U.S. mission
A report published Monday, December 22, 2025, by The Observer places Trinidad and Tobago at the center of a fast-rising geopolitical storm in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Venezuela and expands US military activity across the region. Written by Thomas Graham, the article argues that Trinidad and Tobago’s leadership has taken an unusually firm position in support of the United States, a stance that now carries immediate security, diplomatic, and economic consequences for the twin-island state and its neighbors.
According to the report, Trinidad’s proximity to Venezuela, in places just 7 kilometers away, has turned geography into vulnerability. The article notes a local saying that highlights the closeness of the relationship, many Trinidadian fishers operate across both shores, and informal cross-border ties are part of daily life. That closeness, the report suggests, is now being tested as Washington builds a major military presence in the southern Caribbean while accusing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug trafficking cartel and claiming he “stole an election last year.”
US military buildup, drug enforcement, and the regime change question
The Observer describes a US buildup that began in mid-August and now includes the USS Gerald R Ford, about 15,000 troops, dozens of aircraft, and a fleet of warships. The stated goal, the report says, is to stop the flow of drugs to the United States. Still, it adds that many observers have concluded the campaign’s deeper purpose is regime change in Venezuela.
The report details several US actions and announcements tied to the Venezuela pressure campaign, including:
- Authorization of covert operations in Venezuela
- A $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest
- Trump’s late-November declaration that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety”
- A blockade on sanctioned oil tankers, with US forces boarding and seizing two vessels so far
- A reported ultimatum for Maduro to step down issued earlier this month
- An expanding rationale that now includes disputes over oil investments, alongside counternarcotics enforcement
The article frames the posture as part of what it calls the “Donroe doctrine,” described as a revival of the Monroe doctrine concept, asserting US dominance in the Americas and a willingness to impose its will through force.
Trinidad and Tobago’s policy break with regional instincts
A central focus of the Observer report is Trinidad and Tobago’s shift away from its earlier regional posture. During Trump’s 2019 effort to oust Maduro, Trinidad and Tobago joined CARICOM in seeking a diplomatic solution. The report says that approach has changed sharply.
The Observer writes that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has “upended a long diplomatic tradition” by backing the US military presence strongly, while insisting the country is only fighting drug trafficking, not enabling regime change. The report says the US has docked warships, landed military planes, and established an air defense radar on Tobago, all presented as counternarcotics measures. It adds that Venezuela has accused Trinidad and Tobago of serving as a “launchpad” for a potential US invasion.
The report highlights that Persad-Bissessar’s rhetoric has intensified the regional split. It notes that as US forces attacked alleged drug smuggling boats, the prime minister said the US should “kill them all violently.” The report also states that after CARICOM reaffirmed the Caribbean as a “zone of peace,” Persad-Bissessar accused other CARICOM leaders of siding with Venezuela.
Opposition senator and former foreign minister Amery Browne is quoted in the report describing a sharp departure from Trinidad and Tobago’s earlier posture, saying the country was once “a champion of diplomacy,” but has now been “reduced to exchanging hostile and belligerent rhetoric with a neighbouring state.”
Government secrecy, public rumors, and fear along the coast
The Observer report says the government has withheld information, leaving residents trading rumors of “helicopters, drones and Americans in uniform.” The article ties that opacity to mounting anxiety in communities that depend on the sea.
In Matelot, a fishing community on Trinidad’s north coast, the report describes fishers pulling in boats early and staying closer to shore. One fisherman is quoted saying, “Trump is bombing,” adding, “I don’t go out too far.” The report links those fears to an escalation in US actions against alleged drug boats, stating that US forces have destroyed 28 alleged drug boats across the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, killing at least 104 people. The report adds that the operations appear to include two missing Trinidadians.
A missing fisherman, and demands for proof
The Observer report anchors its regional security narrative in a personal case: 26-year-old Chad Joseph, who went missing after traveling by boat from Venezuela. The article says Joseph made regular trips to Venezuela, where he had family, and that he never arrived home after telling his mother he was returning.
The report states that US forces destroyed a boat around the same time, claiming it carried drugs, and that Joseph’s mother, Lenore, rejected the allegation. She is quoted asking, “if it’s drugs, where’s the proof?”
Why Trinidad and Tobago is taking this path: crime, politics, and energy
The report asks why Trinidad and Tobago has taken such a strong position supporting the US, even as other countries with major stakes, including nearby Guyana with its territorial dispute with Venezuela, have been more cautious.
The Observer notes that neither the Office of the Prime Minister nor the foreign ministry responded to interview requests. It reports that Kirk Meighoo, the public relations officer of the ruling UNC party, rejected claims the government is enabling American imperialism, and argued the issue is counternarcotics, not regime change. Meighoo is quoted saying, “The US’s declared agenda right now is not regime change, it is fighting narco-trafficking. That is also our agenda.”
The report links Trinidad and Tobago’s posture to domestic security pressures, describing more than a decade of gang violence. It cites 624 homicides last year in a population of about 1.5 million, notes a state of emergency declared in July, and reports that homicides in the first nine months of this year were down by more than 40% compared with the same period last year. It places Persad-Bissessar within a wider “security populism” trend in the western hemisphere, where leaders gain support by talking tough and cracking down on criminal groups.
The Observer also presents energy economics as a second, possibly decisive factor. It reports that oil and gas account for about 35% of Trinidad and Tobago’s GDP and about 80% of its exports, while gas production peaked in 2010 and major LNG and petrochemical facilities are operating under capacity.
An energy sector source is quoted saying, “That’s the real story,” adding that “People are crying out for natural gas.” The report says falling oil and gas revenues have widened the fiscal deficit, foreign reserves are dwindling, and some anticipate devaluation of the Trinidadian dollar. It adds that these pressures pushed the previous government to pursue cross-border gas field arrangements with Venezuela, intended to begin supplying Trinidad and Tobago in coming years.
Venezuela cancels gas arrangements after airport access announcement
The Observer reports a major development that, in its framing, sharpens the stakes immediately: “Just hours after Trinidad and Tobago announced it would allow US military aircraft to use its airports,” Venezuela cancelled all arrangements to supply Trinidad and Tobago with gas.
The report argues that this cancellation makes Trinidad and Tobago’s near-term prospects highly dependent on how the Venezuela crisis unfolds, whether it leads to regime change, escalation including possible war, or a negotiated outcome that leaves Maduro or an ally in power.
Former minister Bhoendradatt Tewarie is quoted describing the dilemma, “Trinidad and Tobago is caught in the middle,” and warning of “very high risk.” He also cautions that Venezuela will remember Trinidad and Tobago’s alignment, saying, “When you align with the US in this way, you are really banking on the fact that they will protect you.” Former national security minister Gary Griffith is quoted calling for explicit assurances, “We must get [security] guarantees from the US.”
A divided public, and the political cost of rhetoric
The Observer reports that the government’s geopolitical stance has divided Trinidadians. In Matelot, a fisherman criticizes what he views as overreach, quoted saying, “They are trying to recolonise Trinidad.”
Lenore Joseph, still waiting for answers about her son, is quoted describing the hardship of uncertainty. Asked about the government’s support for the US, she says, “I have nothing to say concerning them. I live with them.” Asked about the prime minister’s “kill them violently” remark, the report quotes her response: “Well, she’s going to pay for whatever she says.”
Regional implications
The Observer report frames Trinidad and Tobago’s current posture as more than a national choice, it is a regional signal. With CARICOM seeking to preserve the Caribbean’s identity as a “zone of peace,” the article suggests Trinidad and Tobago’s hard alignment may reshape how the region navigates a period of great power competition, security operations at sea, and energy vulnerability tied directly to the political future of Venezuela.