The Prime Minister says his government will not support any plans by the US to place troops in Trinidad and Tobago in the event of a conflict in Venezuela.
He emphasised this repeatedly at a post-cabinet media briefing on December 12, at which he berated the Newsday for its article titled “Government signs agreement as White House ups pressure on Maduro – US can put troops in TT.”
The article said the government had signed five agreements with the US, at least two of which allow for US troops to be stationed in in this country in the event of any conflict in Venezuela if the TT government gives permission, .
Rowley, who hosted the media briefing solely to respond to the article, said his government’s actions in the past had spoken louder than words.
“We don’t countenance a breach of peace in the region and we will not facilitate any such move.
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“It is so far from what TT represents and has represented in recent years, months and days.”
Recalling TT’s role in preventing possible conflict in Venezuela, Rowley said his government had never wavered on its stance that the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace.
“There was a situation where the US government led arguments about regime change in Venezuela. It got very heated and to the point where people were expecting physical action. The EU had given Maduro eight days to leave office. Canada said to us in Caricom, ‘Time to talk is over,’ and our question was, ‘Time for what now?’"
He said TT took a leadership role in talks to preserve peace within the region.
“The prime minister of Barbados and myself went to the office of the UN Secretary General to take a different position on the Venezuela issue. We didn’t stop there. TT and Caricom went to Uruguay and took part in generating the Montevideo accord which was meant to prevent any instance of the breach of the peace in the Caribbean.
“All along, TT has a leadership role, and at every stage in the game, the media knew what the country’s position was.”
He said the article was irresponsible and had serious diplomatic implications.
Rowley added the picture on the front page of him, Commander of US Southern Command Admiral Alvin Holsey, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds and US ambassador Candace Bond sent the wrong message. The photo was sent to media as part of a US Embassy statement.
“When this shows up in Caracas, (they will ask) where is this coming from?
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“To tell the world and Venezuela that we have entered into an agreement, (and) to tell Guyana and Caricom that this picture is representative of an action we have taken…and it is about us creating an environment where the US can place troops in TT to respond to instability in Venezuela.
"Whoever did this is not acting in the interest of the people of TT.”
The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) allows for US troop deployment to TT in times of natural disasters.
Newsday understands the US can also request permission to deploy troops to TT using SOFA in the event of a conflict in nearby Venezuela.
Newsday understands similar requests can also be made using the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), also signed by Hinds on December 10.
Newsday asked Rowley specifically about this and he said, “So in short, your interpretation of that is that we are US base? Sovereign TT will stand aside and the US will just do that because we signed an agreement…?
“It is not for me, for you to misunderstand anything if what I say is how you understand it. It is what the fact is."
Asked again whether the provision exists in the agreement, Rowley said, “I am not engaging in any tutorial with you. I'm simply saying show me the evidence that supports your headline.
“And don't ask me to explain it for you because you have a responsibility to understand what you're writing.”
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When interrupted and asked again about the clause, Rowley added, “I am not engaging in any tutorial with you. If you think that is what it is, publish it again!”
Asked by another journalist to explain what the SOFA agreement entails, Rowley suggested Hinds was best placed to answer that question saying, “That is precisely why I asked whoever contacted me to talk to the minister.”
Hinds, however, was not at the media conference. Calls and messages to Hinds on the issue on December 11 and 12 also went unanswered.
At the media conference, Rowley said the agreements allowed TT to improve the quality of its security services through a relationship with US security agencies.
“One of the main things we discussed was maintenance of our equipment. We are having to send our ships to Suriname for maintenance because we haven’t been able to establish the appropriate level of maintenance.”
He said that would build a culture of maintenance and would lead to greater availability of TT’s security assets.
“That requires training and that is where the agreement allows the training to come to us. It has nothing to do with dealing with any conflict in Venezuela.”
Asked if he could assure the public that the SOFA could not be used in that way, Rowley said, “I am not discussing the agreement. I’m simply saying that your interpretation of the agreement that the US can put troops in TT is not what this is about… Your interpretation and presentation is wrong.”
He did not offer his own interpretation.
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Contacted for a response to Rowley's media conference, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar criticised the Prime Minister for refusing to explain the details of the signed agreements.
In a statement sent to Newsday by WhatsApp, Persad-Bissessar said, "Once again, Prime Minister Rowley and his senior cabinet members are engaging in a questionable game of obfuscation, which is in keeping with their hallmark of lacking transparency and accountability in government.
"I note that he blatantly refused to discuss the agreement in question – SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) – yet attacked and buffed the media for their interpretation of the part of said agreement that states that the SOFA will facilitate 'interoperability between the two countries armed forces.'
"It is not enough for PM Rowley to deem this interpretation wrong, but then refuse to explain or clarify what it entails."
She said the government had a track record of refusing to "come clean" on several issues.
"I call on him to now clarify and make public all the details of the SOFA, and to explain exactly what the 'interoperability between the two countries armed forces' means."
Persad-Bissessar also took issue with the timing of the agreements.
"Why is the Rowley Government signing all of these last-minute agreements with officials from an outgoing Government?" she asked.
"By January 2025, there will be a new president and government in the US – that of President-elect Donald Trump. It makes sense, therefore, to wait to see what the policies of this new Government are."
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She called on Rowley to explain the "rush to sign all of these deals in one go" when they had not been signed in the past four years.
Newsday asked the Opposition Leader, if elected to office in the next general election, how a UNC government would approach a US request to station troops in TT in the event of conflict in Venezuela.
She replied, "I don’t propose to predict the future, so I will not venture to answer any questions on issues that are based on conjecture."
