Trinidad PM: U.S. welcome to use our waters if Venezuela threatens Guyana

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has assured Guyana that Trinidad and Tobago will stand firmly at its side in the event of any Venezuelan aggression, declaring her government’s readiness to allow U.S. forces access through Trinidadian territory should the need arise.

“If the Maduro regime launches an attack against the Guyanese people or invades their territory, and the United States requests access to defend Guyana, my government will unhesitatingly grant it,” Persad-Bissessar stated on Saturday.

Her comments come amid mounting regional concern over Venezuela’s intentions towards Guyana and coincide with Washington’s latest decision to strengthen its military footprint in the Caribbean. The Trinidadian leader said her administration fully supports the deployment of U.S. assets, describing it as a vital response to the escalating threat posed by transnational criminal networks.

“Let me be clear: the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has not engaged CARICOM on this matter, nor do we intend to. Each country must decide its own position,” she stressed, signalling Port of Spain’s willingness to act independently on security matters.

According to Persad-Bissessar, the region faces a dangerous convergence of threats, including drug trafficking, human smuggling, illegal arms flows, and rising gang violence. These, she warned, have enabled powerful cartels to entrench themselves at the highest levels of politics, business, banking and the media across several Caribbean states.

“Organised crime has already undermined governments’ capacity to act decisively. That is why decisive international action is necessary,” she asserted.

For Trinidad and Tobago, where violent crime has spiked dramatically in recent years, the Prime Minister said aligning with U.S. operations is not only about safeguarding Guyana’s sovereignty but also about addressing her own nation’s vulnerability to transnational crime.