American military personnel have installed a high-tech radar system in Tobago, a move Trinidad and Tobago officials say is intended to strengthen surveillance of drug-trafficking activity in the southern Caribbean.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar confirmed that U.S. Marines set up the unit on the eastern end of the Crown Point runway at ANR Robinson International Airport, as reported by USA Today.
Tobago lies about 70 miles from Venezuela's Paria Peninsula.
The radar system, according to its manufacturer, is a long-range, rapidly deployable unit capable of detecting and tracking aircraft and monitoring maritime activity.
It provides 360-degree coverage with a surveillance range of roughly 170 miles and is designed to identify sophisticated airborne threats in contested environments.
While Trinidadian officials emphasized its use against drug boats, the system's broader surveillance capability has drawn attention because of escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.
The U.S. military has increased operations in the region and has carried out more than 20 airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Detractors are calling for U.S. congressional oversight of the boat strikes following questions about their legality. The White House defends the strikes as protecting the U.S. homeland.
President Donald Trump signaled during a Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops that operations in the region would expand, saying the military would begin targeting traffickers on land in addition to strikes at sea.
The prime minister initially denied on Nov. 26 that Marines were on Tobago, later clarifying that U.S. personnel were present to install the radar and assist with work on a runway and road.
She said the system would improve the country's surveillance and intelligence efforts against narcotics trafficking.
The installation followed a Nov. 25 meeting between Persad-Bissessar and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine in Trinidad, according to local reporting.
Trinidad and Tobago, along with the Dominican Republic, has aligned with U.S. efforts to counter Venezuelan trafficking networks and regional influence.
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