TT IN TOO DEEP

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Director of Caribbean Development Research Services Peter Wickham is warning that Trinidad and Tobago is putting itself at risk by allowing access to United States military aircraft. Speaking on Morning Edition, Wickham questioned how the decision serves the national interest, arguing that the country gains little while exposing itself to serious geopolitical consequences.  More from Nicole M Romany

Transcript

00:00Trinidad and Tobago is already past the point of easy retreat.

00:05This according to political analyst and director of cadres Peter Wickham.

00:10On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved U.S. military aircraft

00:15to transit through this country's airports.

00:18Within hours, Venezuela cancelled all energy agreements with TNT.

00:23Today, Wickham warns that this country is now treading in very murky geopolitical waters.

00:30I think that you're in too deep.

00:33My sense is that there is a hope that matters will not escalate.

00:37You know, if Maduro left office tomorrow, this would have worked.

00:42And it would have worked simply because you've had your bets, it has worked out.

00:45And you can continue to establish relations with the new administration and you can move on.

00:50If it works, the challenge I'm having is that if Maduro decides to dig his heels in

00:56and it gets messier, then that's the problem.

00:58But I don't believe that Trinidad and Tobago can walk by the situation

01:01because, I mean, we pretty much all know what's going on.

01:04According to Wickham, Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissasa

01:08appears to be attempting to hedge her bets

01:10so that if President Nicolas Maduro remains in office,

01:15she's keeping negotiating channels open.

01:17However, he says, she appears to also be positioning herself

01:21to immediately engage a new administration

01:24should there be regime change in Venezuela.

01:28Wickham warns that this balancing act leaves Trinidad and Tobago exposed

01:33and argues the country has reached a point

01:37where it may no longer be able to straddle both sides.

01:41I think that we are now reaching a critical phase.

01:44You know, the military assets have been there now for some weeks.

01:48My sense is that they're needed elsewhere and they can't stay forever.

01:52So it's essentially that they need to do something and do something quickly.

01:55Maduro doesn't appear to want to leave.

01:58And against that background, you know, it's going to get messier and messier.

02:02And sadly, as we approach the Yuletide season,

02:06it appears as though this is going to be crunch time.

02:08Wickham says the position of other Karikam leaders

02:11underscores the gravity of the movement

02:14as they continue to insist the Caribbean remains a zone of peace.

02:19In sharp contrast, he notes that Prime Minister Passat-Bissasa

02:22has signaled that Karikam can no longer be regarded as a dependable ally.

02:27Wickham also warns that military equipment rejected by Grenada

02:32is now operating as a radar system in Tobago

02:35under what he notes are less than transparent circumstances.

02:39I continue to be very, very concerned about the direction of all this

02:43and the extent to which it's not good for the region.

02:46And I am also concerned that it is not good for Trinidad and Tobago.

02:50And frankly, I am struggling to understand

02:53how your national interest as Trinidad and Tobago

02:56is being served by these hostile actions.

02:58Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.

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