US Marines began drills on Sunday in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean island nation that’s just miles off the coast of Venezuela, as the US military continues its activity in the region amid a push toward a potential US attack aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago said the US Marine Corps 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) will be deployed to the Caribbean nation from November 16 to November 21 and will participate in exercises with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF).
According to Task & Purpose, the deployment came after the Trinidadian attorney general said the US military would “intensify” its exercises in the country. The 22nd MEU has been in the Caribbean since it was deployed to the region with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group in August.
Maduro has criticized the increased US drills in Trinidad and Tobago, calling them “irresponsible” and warning against the US push toward war. “The people of Trinidad and Tobago will see if they continue allowing their waters and land to be used to gravely threaten the peace of the Caribbean,” he said over the weekend.
A US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, just arrived in the Caribbean, and according to The Washington Post, its fighter jet pilots have been studying Venezuela’s air defenses as the Trump administration is considering bombing the country. Trump suggested on Sunday that his administration was in talks with the Maduro government.
The US has continued its bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the region, which has received criticism from US allies over its clear illegality under both US and international law, but Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has strongly supported the campaign despite fears among her country’s fishing community.
Bodies of people believed to be killed in the US strikes have washed up in Trinidad and Tobago, and fishermen in the country have said the US bombing campaign has them fearing for their lives and jobs.
