Tobago has become the site of a significant military installation as the United States positions a battlefield operational radar system at Crown Point’s ANR Robinson International Airport. This development occurs against a backdrop of intensifying geopolitical friction between the US and Venezuela, signaling potential preparation for aerial combat operations according to military analysts.
The advanced intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance system, with an operational range of 50-100 miles, represents the first-ever deployment of American military hardware on Tobagonian soil. Equipment components arrived via multiple C-17 aircraft transports, with installation proceedings commencing immediately.
This strategic move follows the recent diplomatic engagement between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. During their meeting at St. Ann’s Diplomatic Centre, discussions presumably addressed regional security concerns and military cooperation frameworks.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar initially treated the radar deployment as a matter of heightened national security confidentiality. However, following media disclosure of the Tobago installation, she confirmed plans for an additional radar system in Trinidad while acknowledging the compromised secrecy surrounding the operations.
Military sources suggest Tobago may represent a secondary option after Grenada’s refusal to host similar US equipment last month. The island’s proximity to Venezuela makes it strategically valuable for monitoring potential air operations in the escalating conflict scenario.
Local political leadership has expressed strong opposition to the deployment. Tobago Chief Secretary Farley Augustine emphatically declared the island’s neutrality stance, stating: “Tobago not going to be a part of no war! We have adopted a position of neutrality, which means we ent pro or anti anybody.” He emphasized that conflicts between US and Venezuelan leadership should remain their exclusive concern.
Opposition leader Ancil Dennis of the Tobago Island Council has challenged Augustine’s professed ignorance of the developments, suggesting prior awareness and demanding unified resistance from political, religious, and civil society leaders against the federal government’s military cooperation decisions.