Aerial view of the USS Gravely warship docked in the port of Port of Spain on October 26, 2025. The US warship will visit Trinidad and Tobago for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela amid Washington’s campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the region. AFP/ Martin Bernetti
By Prior Beharry
AS tensions in the Caribbean region continue to rise with America declaring a war on narco-traffickers, the US Embassy in Port of Spain issued a release on Saturday giving a history of collaboration between the US and Trinidad and Tobago. It comes as the US and T&T will be engaging in training exercises for a second time after the warship USS Gravely had docked in Port of Spain for five days two weeks ago.
The United States has deployed warships, fighter jets and thousands of soldiers to Latin America in recent weeks and launched strikes on 21 alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing at least 80 people.
Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro has taken umbrage to T&T’s relationship with the US.
“The government of Trinidad and Tobago has once again announced irresponsible exercises, lending its waters off the coast of Sucre state for military exercises that are intended to be threatening to a republic like Venezuela, which does not allow itself to be threatened by anyone,” Maduro said during an event in Caracas on Saturday.
He called on his supporters in the eastern states of the country to hold “a vigil and a permanent march in the streets” during the military maneuvers, scheduled for November 16-21.
In a release on Saturday, the US Embassy stated that as the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its Independence next July, and the US Marine Corps marks 250 years since its founding in November 2025, Washington is spotlighting a decades-long defence partnership with Trinidad and Tobago that it says is critical to regional security.
From joint naval visits and medical missions to disaster response training and school infrastructure upgrades, recent activities underscore what officials describe as a maturing security relationship between the United States and the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF), the release stated.
Marines, USS Gravely lead new round of engagements
Between October 27 and 29, US Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), embarked aboard the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, conducted a military-to-military engagement and subject matter expert (SME) exchange with the TTDF in Trinidad and Tobago.
The exercises focused on building interoperability and mutual understanding and are part of a continuing series of professional exchanges planned between the 22nd MEU and the TTDF, according to the US Embassy in Port of Spain.
According to the release, those activities followed a separate port visit from October 26 to 30 by the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107), which moored in Port of Spain to support side-by-side training between US Marines and TTDF personnel.
The Gravely’s stop provided what US officials described as a strategically valuable opportunity to reinforce defense collaboration, highlighting shared values, operational alignment and interpersonal connections seen as essential to maintaining regional stability in the Caribbean.
Outreach at Cedros school
The USS Gravely visit also included a community-focused component. Thirty-five students and 15 teachers from the Lochmaben Roman Catholic School in Cedros toured the ship, capping off a series of recent US-funded upgrades at the school.
In September, US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), through the U.S. Embassy, donated 13 computers, a printer, office furniture and other educational resources to Lochmaben RC to enhance classroom learning.
A month earlier, in August 2025, US Navy Seabees from USSOUTHCOM’s US Naval Construction Battalion carried out infrastructure upgrades at the school as part of Operation “Continuing Promise” and the visit of the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) from August 5–11.
The release noted that the Seabees’ work included structural repairs to the school building and improvements to water, sewage and electrical systems.
USNS Comfort delivers medical care, training
During the USNS Comfort’s August visit, the United States and Trinidad and Tobago also deepened military-to-military cooperation through SME exchanges in health care collaboration, disaster preparedness and response, and law enforcement capacity building.
In tandem with those professional exchanges, the Comfort’s crew provided free medical services to the public, including adult and pediatric care, dental services, optometry, physical therapy and dermatology. More than 80 surgeries were performed on board at no cost to patients in Trinidad and Tobago.
Tradewinds 2025 brings 24 nations to T&T
Regional collaboration was further highlighted earlier in the year when USSOUTHCOM sponsored the 40th iteration of the Tradewinds exercise, co-hosted by the TTDF and United States Army South (USARSOUTH) from April 26 to May 8, 2025, the release stated.
More than 1,300 military and security personnel from 24 countries participated in the exercise, which focused on countering transnational organized crime, improving humanitarian assistance capabilities and strengthening responses to natural disasters.
Tradewinds is a longstanding regional exercise designed to improve cooperation among Caribbean, North American and European partners, it stated.
Plaque honours legacy of lervice in T&T
On May 27, 2025, to coincide with US Memorial Day, the US Embassy in Port of Spain unveiled a commemorative plaque in its Marli Street courtyard honouring the historical relationship between the two nations’ armed forces.
Commissioned by the American Battle Monuments Commission, the plaque pays tribute to more than 130,000 US military personnel and over 10,000 Trinbagonians who served in Trinidad and Tobago from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Those forces played a critical role in protecting Allied supply lines during World War II and maintaining vital lines of communication to the Panama Canal. The plaque is intended as a permanent reminder of shared sacrifice and the contribution both nations made to global security during a pivotal period in world history.
High-tech radios boost TTDF communications
Beyond training and commemorations, the partnership has also included investments in TTDF capabilities, the release stated.
In July 2024, USSOUTHCOM, through the U.S. Embassy, donated 45 Harris military radios valued at US$653,000 to the TTDF. The equipment was provided under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a US programme that supports security cooperation with 13 Caribbean nations.
“These state-of-the-art Harris radios represent a critical investment in the communication capabilities of the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force,” said USSOUTHCOM Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans (J5), Major General Julian Cheater, at the time of the donation.
“This enhanced equipment will empower our partners to strengthen communications, boost situational awareness, and improve interoperability,” he added, noting that the radios will also facilitate smoother communication with regional and international partners and support collective security across the Caribbean.
Delaware–TTDF partnership reaches two decades
Just months before the radio donation, the TTDF engaged in joint aviation interoperability training with the Delaware National Guard (DENG) under the US State Partnership Program (SPP).
From April 27 to May 15, 2024, Delaware Guard personnel and TTDF members conducted joint planning and execution of air operations and maintenance practices, using two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and around 20 air crew and support staff. Training was carried out in both urban and rural environments across Trinidad and Tobago.
According to the release, the exercises improved maritime domain awareness through the use of air assets and highlighted the benefits of deepening military-to-military cooperation.
The Delaware–Trinidad and Tobago partnership, now in its 21st year, is part of the broader SPP network, which began in 1993 and currently comprises 100 pairings between US states and partner countries. In 2022, the Delaware–TTDF partnership was recognized as Partnership of the Year, ranked as the top such collaboration globally.
