This was kind of an interesting aside to all the cartel boats blowing up and Maduro blustering going on in the Caribbean.
All that noise from the big boys has drowned out the fact that the little island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is dancing a fine line in the middle of this power play.
The county, which lies only seven miles off the northeast coast of Venezuela, has so far been a willing participant in President Trump's assault on the cartel's drug-running operation and the Maduro regime's enabling of the same.
In fact, the prime minister of Trinidad has gone so far as to say the cartel members using ocean-going boats should be sent straight to Davey Jones' locker in as spectacular a fashion as possible.
...Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has previously said she welcomed the US offensive on drug traffickers, calling for them to be killed “violently.”
This has put her and her little country on the outs with other Caribbean nations who, it seems, would prefer to let the US and Venezuelans duke it out while they stay safe on the sidelines of Maduro's self-proclaimed and pretty convenient 'zone of peace.'
...Her posture has alienated Trinidad from other English-language countries in the Caribbean that have insisted on maintaining the region as a “zone of peace.”
As he was the neighborhood thug, you can interpret that as you will.
Maduro's 'Peace Zone' idiots have been doing his dirty work at the U.S. Embassy for a couple of weeks now.
PROTEST OUTSIDE U.S. EMBASSY IN PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO🇹🇹
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) October 17, 2025
The Assembly of Caribbean People denounces extrajudicial killings at sea and rejects the United States’ use of Caribbean countries as a military staging ground to attack Venezuela pic.twitter.com/MTxqt9oaNl
So far, she's not backing down. The USS Gravely pulled into Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Sunday and was welcomed.
TURNING THE SCREWS: A U.S. guided missile destroyer docked in Trinidad and Tobago’s capital on Sunday as the Trump administration escalates a campaign of military pressure against neighboring Venezuela and its President Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/IaKIvCp35o
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 27, 2025
The Gravely's there to both get resupplied and stay out of the way of Hurricane Melissa, who does not seem to have any intention of moving from where she is at the moment.
The USS Gravely (DDG-107) arrived yesterday at the Port of Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, for a five-day port visit to resupply and wait out Hurricane Melissa currently rampaging across the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica. Venezuela has called the arrival of the… pic.twitter.com/kHnaB4X2Xu
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 27, 2025
It could possibly also take part in a planned joint military exercise between the US and Trinidad, but the Gravely's arrival was enough that both of these events have caused an immediate freakout by the Venezuelan government, claiming they are meant as a provocation.
Venezuela accuses Trinidad and Tobago and the US Central Intelligence Agency of a military provocation, claiming it is intended to incite a confrontation with the country https://t.co/ksnTHocquH pic.twitter.com/DmJXru7H61
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 27, 2025
The howling from the Venezuelans was immediate and bellicose.
A U.S. warship docked in Trinidad and Tobago ‘s capital Sunday as the Trump administration boosts military pressure on neighboring Venezuela and its President Nicolás Maduro.
The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation is in addition to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Maduro criticized the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the U.S government to fabricate “a new eternal war” against his country.
...Government officials from the twin-island nation and the U.S. said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises.
A senior military official in Trinidad and Tobago told The Associated Press that the move was only recently scheduled. The official spoke under condition of anonymity due to lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military presence and the deadly strikes on suspected drug boats in waters off Venezuela.
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz said in a statement that the exercises seek to “address shared threats like transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions, and security efforts.”
Things are getting tense on the island. The U.S. Embassy issued a warning last week for Americans to stay away from U.S. facilities during the upcoming island-wide Hindu holiday, and to make sure they are enrolled in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for updates and alerts.
...The United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has issued a security alert cautioning American citizens to avoid all U.S. government facilities throughout the holiday weekend due to what officials describe as “a heightened state of alert.” The warning, released on Saturday, October 18, 2025, comes amid escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela following a series of deadly U.S. military strikes in Caribbean waters targeting suspected drug traffickers.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Homeland Security, Roger Alexander, confirmed to The Associated Press that the alert was based on threats directed at American citizens in the Caribbean nation that “could be linked” to the ongoing regional tensions. The twin-island nation, which lies just seven miles from Venezuela’s northeastern coast, is currently preparing for Monday’s Diwali celebrations, a Hindu festival widely observed in the country where approximately 35% of its 1.4 million residents identify as East Indian.
The Venezuelans dropped more vitriol, and now are claiming to have captured a 'CIA team' attempting to overthrow the government.
Confirmed statement by Venezuela: US-CIA mercenaries were caught coming from Trinidad & Tobago to infiltrate Venezuela and initiate a false flag operation.
— Tamanisha J John (@TamanishaJohn) October 27, 2025
As expected, Trinidad has positioned itself to serve as the staging ground for US intervention in the region: pic.twitter.com/dwULCHMEvc
Of course they did. As we girls used to say in the Marine Corps, 'If you believe that, you'll buy THIS watch!' *holds up naked wrist*
In any event, Venezuelan bluster and adventure fantasies aside, the Trinidadians do have another problem on their hands - Maduro is threatening to cut off their gas supply because of the island's cooperation with the Americans.
This is no small matter. Trinidad had already had to have a waiver from Trump for the Venezuelan fuel that drives their dry little paradise.
Venezuela is threatening to revoke energy deals with neighboring Trinidad and Tobago for its support of a US military offensive in the Caribbean, potentially raising the economic cost of the twin-island nation’s alliance with the Trump administration.
Speaking on state television, Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodríguez asked President Nicolás Maduro to revoke an energy framework agreement with Trinidad that allowed the two countries to forge gas deals.
Trinidad needs Venezuelan gas to replenish supply to the industrial backbone of its fragile economy.
Trinidad’s government has developed a “hostile attitude” and a “warlike plan” against Venezuela, Rodríguez said, by “siding” with the US’s “military agenda.”
The Venezuelans have warned the Prime Minister again not to 'underestimate' them, with an awful lot of 'we remain calms' scattered in the statement.
...[Minister of Defence Vladimir] Padrino made the statement in a video posted to his social media hours ago, citing a major military exercise in Trinidad and Tobago, a few miles away from Venezuela’s national territory.
He warned the country not to be mistaken and not to attempt a “false flag” operation, as the US warship USS Gravely (DDG-107) remains docked in Port of Spain.
“This mocks the declaration we made loudly back in 2014, when we proclaimed our region a Zone of Peace. We remain calm — but do not be mistaken. Do not attempt false-flag provocations or violations of our national sovereignty. We are called to defend our homeland. We will remain calm, I repeat calm but alert, alert, alert. Do not make the mistake of underestimating Venezuela,” Padrino said.
Sounds like a total spaz.
The energy threats continue apace.
Delcy Rodríguez, anunció que el Gobierno venezolano evalúa romper los acuerdos energéticos con Trinidad y Tobago, tras denunciar que la nueva administración de la isla se ha subordinado a los planes de “guerra y desestabilización” impulsados desde EE.UU pic.twitter.com/fT8oQ0zT1Z
— Amaresy Cardenas (@Amaresyc93) October 27, 2025
...Delcy Rodríguez announced that the Venezuelan government is evaluating breaking the energy agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, after denouncing that the new administration of the island has subordinated itself to the plans of "war and destabilization" promoted from the U.S.
In a way, you can sort of understand Maduro's losing it at this stage. If you take a peek at the map, there's Trinidad, and the white in the left-hand corner of the page is Venezuela.
NEW: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely docked in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago for a five-day visit, opposite Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/Rg6yArAso8
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 26, 2025
I mean, if they had any intention of doing so, the Americans could reach out and touch him from there.
Well. Huh.
How about them apples?
No wonder Maduro was so happy when he had a 'peace zone.'
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