One day after a US Navy vessel was sighted by fishermen off the Gulf of Paria, a few miles away from Trinidad, many say that while they are cautious, they are not particularly worried about ongoing military activity in the southern Caribbean.
In fact, some say they feel safer.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the USS Iwo Jima was roughly 43 miles off the coast of Trinidad. The USS Iwo Jima is an amphibious assault vessel.
Guardian Media Ltd ventured two miles off the coast of Felicity in Central Trinidad and spoke with several fishermen who said they continue to heed warnings from the authorities not to venture too far out to sea, for fear of being mistaken for narco-traffickers who are currently being targeted by US military forces.
One fisherman, Raj Tewarie, acknowledged that while he was concerned about the strikes and sightings of US military aircraft and seacraft by some, he said it was not enough to deter fisherfolk from going to earn a living.
“We have been moving all about, and we haven’t seen anything.
“At the end of the day, we have to work and earn a living regardless of what’s going on. You have to proceed with caution, but you can’t stop work altogether.”
However, the owner of a Felicity boatyard, Chankalal Rampersad, also called Pastor, said he has spoken with fisherfolk and recreational boaters who use his facility about the military strikes.
Rampersad said there has been a significant slowdown in the number of requests for tours, as many boaters preferred not to take any chances given the heightened activity at sea.
He noted that while no fisherfolk have reported seeing any military vessels or aircraft through first-hand encounters, he felt there was a sense of intrigue and curiosity among them rather than fear.
“It has slowed down a bit because people are cautious now, but other than that, there are people who make their daily living fishing.”
While at sea, Guardian Media spoke to a trawler who asked not to be named, who said he has only seen footage of US military vessels on social media, noting that the involvement of T&T in any ongoing military tension still felt like a distant concept.
In Otaheite Bay, South Oropouche, fishermen said they feel safer knowing US naval ships are operating near the country’s waters. One said he spotted the two ships in the Gulf of Paria, off Couva, about ten miles from shore on Tuesday.
He said he was fishing about five miles out at sea around midday when he saw two ships and a chopper in the distance “inside the bocas mouth.”
The 61-year-old man, who has been fishing for more than four decades, said he was sure the vessels were not from Venezuela or Trinidad.
“That have to be American vessels,” he insisted. “They pass real close to we, I start to give them right. What you want me to do again?”
He, along with a few other fishermen, said they were not intimidated by the US vessel in T&T waters; in fact, they feel safer.
