By-Peter Richards
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Nov 17, CMC – Former prime minister Dr. Keith Rowley, Monday, denied signing an agreement with the United States that would allow Washington to use Trinidad and Tobago as a staging ground to attack neighbouring countries such as Venezuela, while reiterating that the Caribbean region should always remain a zone of peace.
“As the former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago and chairman of the National Security Council and the person who sat and talked with Americans throughout my term, that there is absolutely nothing in the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to permit any commitment from Trinidad and Tobago to breach the UN Charter, to intervene militarily in any of our neighbours or anywhere in the world,” Rowley told a news conference.
“Absolutely not so at all. Anybody from the government saying that it is a lie. There is nothing in any document that I am aware of, which prevents the sovereign government of Trinidad and Tobago from saying yes or no to any request coming from any country if we believe that it jeopardises our sovereignty or puts our vulnerability to the test. So let’s get that very clear,” Rowley told reporters.
SOFA governs the temporary presence and activities of US military personnel in Trinidad and Tobago. The agreement was first signed in 2007 and has been updated multiple times, most recently in December 2024. The newest version removed a specific expiration date, making it indefinite unless renegotiated, and is designed to facilitate military-to-military engagement and cooperation, such as joint training exercises and security.
Rowley said that if in the future there is a confrontation between the United States and Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago is seen to be a participant, “big or small, it is entirely as a result of decisions taken and actions by the government of Trinidad and Tobago…under the leadership of Kamla Persad-Bissessar”.
Political observers view the US presence in the Caribbean as part of Washington’s efforts to effect regime change in Caracas under the guise of dealing with the illegal drug trade. The US has sent its biggest carrier, the Gerald Forde, into the Caribbean Sea as part of the campaign.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, who has publicly endorsed the US military action in the region, said over the last weekend that their presence in the region has already contributed to a “significant reduction in the trafficking of guns, drugs, and humans” into Trinidad and Tobago, even as the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro warned that Port of Spain’s joint military drills with the United States could “threaten peace” in the Caribbean.
“They say they’re going to do it from Monday to Thursday… Well, the people of Trinidad and Tobago will see if they continue to tolerate the use of their waters and land,” Maduro declared, repeating his longstanding allegation that the US aims to seize Venezuela’s natural resources.
Members of the US 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on Sunday began a week-long joint training exercise with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF), with Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar saying that “as a small nation facing transnational criminal networks, Trinidad and Tobago benefits immensely from this partnership with the world’s leading superpower.
“May these exercises further fortify our security and usher in a safer, stronger Trinidad and Tobago. We promised to make TT safe, and we intend to deliver,” she added.
Rowley told the news conference that when he was in office between 2015-2025, Trinidad and Tobago had followed the long-standing policy of previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administrations of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, reiterating the Caribbean’s position of being friends of all, satellites of none.
He said in recent months, the United States under the Donald Trump administration had developed an “aggressive posture” towards Venezuela and the Persad-Bissessar government, rather than being more careful and being cognisant of how we managed ourselves before, look at our vulnerabilities, we have a badjohn prime minister…and America is going to break international law…
‘Strangely enough, European countries are in fact taking the same position on the legality of what’s happening in the Caribbean,” he said, noting that “we have no issue with the United States as a nation, we want to preserve our relationship with the United States (but) we do not have to accept every policy that the United States execute, especially in international geopolitics. “We have to put our interest first,” he said.
Rowley said that the Persad-Bissessar government had signaled to Washington that it is prepared to allow Trinidad and Tobago to be used as a staging point for attacks on Venezuela. “If the United States military is engaged with Venezuela, it doesn’t matter what for; it was cloaked in some comment about Guyana.
“There was never an issue of Venezuela invading Guyana,” Rowley said, adding that the statement by Port of Spain “dumped all the protection that we had of a nation aiming to be neutral where there is confrontation on the horizon and taking a position with one of the potential combatants.
“From where I sit and from where I came, I could not believe that Trinidad and Tobago after decades of advocating, supporting and receiving the benefit of friends of all, satellite of none and wanting the charter of the United Nations to prevail in all circumstances to protect us, we decide that somehow we better off and benefits to be had by taking sides.”
Rowley said that according to the international media reports, “it is quite clear “ that Washington is engaged in regime change in Caracas.
“I want to ask the government of Trinidad and Tobago…, did you know that this was to be the outcome of the decisions that you made with the United States? Did you make any decisions with them? Did they share any information with you about this operation, which involves nuclear submarines, thousands of marines, assault capacity for a threatened neighbour, aircraft with leading-edge technology, and, of course, most importantly, the use of Trinidad and Tobago as a staging ground for this operation?
“Did you know that, or did you agree to that, or is it just happening, unfolding that today the Venezuelans could be saying that we are using our country to facilitate an attack on Venezuela?” Rowley asked.
He warned that Venezuela may regard targets in Trinidad and Tobago “as legitimate targets” if attacked, including oil platforms that are operational close to the Venezuela-Trinidad and Tobago borders.
“Who woke up this woman and go tell the world that if America, having declared drug dealers as narco terrorists …and once they use the word terrorists, they are now authorised to use the military against it, and that was the plan, because the plan is regime change.
“If they manage to kill every narco trafficker in Venezuela, the objective remains,” he said, noting that President Trump had been telling the international media, “Venezuela is a bad country, they open their jails and their mental institutions and send 25 million people…to America.
“And that is why America’s military is here to put an end to what Venezuela has done, and my prime minister is there saying on my behalf, go full speed ahead, I support your policy, and you can count on us.
“My question today to the government of Trinidad and Tobago, what preparations have you made to protect us in the event your offer is taken up or Venezuela is attacked, and Venezuela sees us as they said they have seen us as a combatant in a military intervention against their territory.
“The government of Trinidad and Tobago has a lot of questions to answer to the people of Trinidad and Tobago because we are at risk,” Rowley told reporters, noting also the potential socio-economic losses should Venezuela, in the future, agree not to engage Port of Spain in any potential agreement to further develop the oil and gas sectors.
CMC/pr/ir/2025