Sharlene Rampersad, Trinidad NewsDay

PORT SPAIN
EnergiesNet.com 12 19 2024

NATIONAL Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds signed off on five agreements with the US on December 10, two of which can allow the US Department of Defense (DoD) to deploy forces to Trinidad and Tobago in the event of a “conflict” in Venezuela.

In a statement on December 10, the US Embassy said the Prime Minister, Hinds, Energy Minister Stuart Young, Finance Minister Colm Imbert and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne met and held talks with US diplomatic and navy officials on security, energy, cybersecurity and human-rights issues.

Dr Rowley met with US ambassador Candace Bond and Commander of the US Southern Command (Southcom) Adm Alvin Holsey at the Diplomatic Centre, Port of Spain.

The embassy said the group celebrated the successful conclusion of negotiations on five agreements, including a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA); the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Technical Assistance Field Team (CBSI-TAFT); and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).

Bond and Holsey also congratulated Rowley on TT’s accession to the Treaty of San José and the Southcom Human Rights Initiative.

Bond said, “TT’s leadership in implementing this framework for security co-operation demonstrates its potential as the cornerstone of peace and security in the Caribbean, and has opened the door to unprecedented and unequalled opportunities for defence co-operation between TT and the US.”

Holsey added, “The US is committed to providing expertise and resources to enhance TT’s security capabilities, and these agreements deepen strategic collaboration on a host of issues.”

The embassy said the SOFA “will facilitate interoperability between the two countries’ armed forces.”

Newsday asked Rowley how important those agreements were to TT via WhatsApp.

He replied, “Please speak to the minister who signed the agreements for the Government and the people of TT.”

Calls and messages to Hinds and Browne went unanswered.

A December 2022 diplomatic note on the US Embassy’s website details TT’s agreement to SOFA, starting in 2013. The note said the 2013 SOFA was due to expire on January 1, 2023.

“The Embassy has the further honour to propose to the Government of the Republic of TT that the Government of the US and the Government of the Republic of TT agree to further extend the 2013 SOFA, without any other changes, for an additional two years from its expiration date of January 1, 2023, to January 1, 2025.”

The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s response also formed part of the diplomatic note.

“The Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs of the Republic of TT is pleased to confirm that the proposal set forth in the Embassy’s note is acceptable to the Government of the Republic of TT and that the Embassy’s note together with this note in reply shall constitute an agreement between the two Governments which shall enter into force on the date of this note.”

In its December 10 release, the US Embassy said, “The SOFA is an agreement which allows for military-to-military engagement. The US and TT have had a SOFA agreement since 2007. The new SOFA will bring the agreement in line with US and TT laws and will have no expiration date unless renegotiated.”

Newsday understands Cabinet approved the SOFA at its meeting on December 7 and the document was sent to attorneys for the DoD, the National Security Minister, the Attorney General and the TT Defence Force for final “scrubbing” before being signed on December 10.

This agreement will take effect on January 1, 2025.

The renegotiations included clarification of the language used in the agreement, including that it allows for civilian employees of the DoD to qualify for immunities. The agreement does not cover contractors employed with the DoD. It also makes allowances for DoD law-enforcement officers to carry firearms while deployed in TT and for driver’s permits for those employees.
It also makes allowances for US military commanders to discipline US servicemen deployed to TT in TT.

Agreement: US troops can be stationed in TT

It also allows for US troop deployment to TT in times of natural disasters.

In the event of a conflict on TT’s doorstep in Venezuela, the US can also deploy troops to TT for a possible response by enacting the SOFA. As the southernmost country in the Caribbean, TT is mere miles away from Venezuela. Itss closest point is Cedros.

The ACSA agreement, also signed on December 10, provides a similar opportunity for US troops to be deployed to TT to respond to conflicts in Venezuela.

The US Embassy said ACSA “is a formal logistics mechanism that allows the US Department of Defense to exchange logistic support, supplies, and services directly between eligible countries and international organisations.”

Newsday understands both agreements cut red tape that could slow a US deployment.
But, in the event that US is contemplating a deployment, it still must seek permission from the TT Government to do so.

The January 20, 2025, inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump is not expected to affect the agreements, and either country can decide to pull out at any time.

Guyana has also signed a SOFA with the US.

While Newsday has not seen the current agreement, the SOFA signed in 2006 between Guyana and the US allows for DoD military and civilian employees to be granted status equal to US Embassy staff; be allowed to enter and leave Guyana with their US Government IDs; have their driver’s permits – issued in the US – accepted for use in Guyana; be authorised to wear their US-issued uniforms in Guyana; and be permitted to bring weapons into Guyana based on their orders, among other provisions.

“The embassy proposes that both governments shall waive any and all claims (other than contractual claims) against each other for personal injury to or death of their military or civilian personnel, or for damage, loss or destruction of the other’s military property arising out of the activities covered by this agreement,” the SOFA said.

Over the past year, tensions between Guyana and Venezuela have been high after the Nicolas Maduro government proposed and passed a referendum to occupy the disputed Essequibo region.

Maduro gave oil companies operating off Guyana’s coast three months to wrap up their operations and there were numerous reports that Venezuelan troops were seen organising on the Venezuelan/Guyana border.

In the face of growing concern of instability in the region, Maduro and Guyana’s president Dr Irfaan Ali met in St Vincent and the Grenadines on December 14, 2023, and agreed to avoid the use of any force and not to escalate tensions in their dispute over the Essequibo.

On July 28, Maduro faced the polls in the Venezuelan presidential elections, which he has been accused of stealing from Opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. The winner of the election will be sworn in in January 2025 for a six-year term.

US backs Maduro’s opponent for presidency

A November 27 White House press background briefing by senior administration officials, focusing on Maduro’s claim to victory in the election, outlined steps by the US to increase pressure on Maduro ahead of the four-month mark of the election.

“…It was an election in which the Venezuelans voted resoundingly to make Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the president-elect,” a senior official said.

“In the months since July 28, we have given Nicolas Maduro and his representatives every opportunity to do the right thing and we have incentivised the possibility of democratic steps. Instead, Maduro and his representatives decided to use violent repression and to seize power at all costs.
“This is not something the US will stand for, and nor will other countries in the region stand for this.

“Therefore, the US has taken steps to increase pressure against Maduro and his representatives who are responsible for the electoral fraud that took place on July 28 and afterwards and the brutal repression that we’ve seen in the last few months.”

Those steps included the sanction of 21 security and cabinet-level officials who lead the national guard, police, intelligence service and militia and are aligned with Maduro.

“All of these entities are part of Maduro’s security apparatus and are responsible for violently repressing peaceful protesters and carrying out arbitrary detentions.

“We have also included Maduro-aligned officials who have been responsible for anti-democratic acts.”

New restrictions were also place on Maduro “alliance officials who have undermined the electoral process in Venezuela and are responsible for acts of repression.

“The steps that we are taking today build on multiple actions that we have taken already to hold the current and former Venezuelan officials accountable for undermining democracy in Venezuela and to hold them accountable for violating human rights. These actions will follow on similar sanctions and visa restrictions that we announced last September.”

The official said the US government had placed sanctions on 180 Venezuelan officials and 100 Venezuelan entities.

newsday.co.tt 12 12 2024