Editorial
- The Caribbean region as a zone of peace
OECS and CARICOM leaders continue to reinforce that the Caribbean region should remain a zone of peace, despite the US military intervention in Venezuela, and activity in the SOUTHCOM’s region encompassing 31 countries and 12 dependencies – about one-sixth of the landmass of the world assigned to regional unified commands.
On October 9, the government of Grenada said it is “carefully assessing and reviewing the request” by the government of the United States of America for the “temporary installation of radar equipment and associated technical personnel at the Maurice Bishop International Airport.”
In military terms, this is an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operation. If formally permitted, from Grenadian soil, the US is likely to operate components of transmitters, antennas, receivers, etc, with the capability to monitor air traffic, marine navigation, law enforcement, data collection, weather forecasting, surveillance, sending and receiving radio frequency and telecommunication controls with the capability of a rapid-response posture.
Regionally, this is viewed as a ramped-up presence and something much larger to complement US assets in the Caribbean. To many, this is seeking to control a major corridor for marine and logistics, fishing, regional travel, cruise tourism, and trade, deep within the Caribbean Islands.
The US request on Grenada also stands out in proximity to Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Venezuela drug cartels, operating from South America. And in proximity to “international waters” where several boats have been targeted by US forces and eliminated.
Grenada is also of significant value to the US with a dedicated medical campus. This facility is a major source of physicians for the US healthcare system, providing US-focused clinical training.
Grenada Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, Grenadian citizens are eligible to apply for a US E-2 visa, providing the opportunity to live and work in the United States.
The timing of the US request on Grenada is likewise significant. On October 19, 1983, a violent coup overthrew the Maurice Bishop administration and the then-Reagan administration, on October 25, 1983, invaded Grenada, under US foreign policy to counter perceived threats from communism. Among US troops, 19 were killed and 116 were wounded. The government of Saint Lucia and Hewanorra International Airport (HIA) served as a key facilitator.
The governments in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom. By a vote of 108 to 9, with 27 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly condemned it as “a flagrant violation of international law.”
Last Friday, briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, UN assistant secretary-general Miroslav Jenča said the US operations, conducted between 2 September and 3 October, have heightened tensions in the region and drawn sharp criticism from Caracas.
Jenča emphasised that efforts to counter drug trafficking “must be carried out in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter,” and that any use of force in countering illicit trafficking must respect human rights standards. ~ UN News.
The Monroe Doctrine resurfaces
The Monroe Doctrine has not only resurfaced, but re-modelled on a war of drugs and regional intervention based on global power, trade supremacy, and diplomatic control in the designation of democracy.
The American catch phrase in the 1980, “Just Say No,” was one part of the US government’s effort to revisit and expand the War on Drugs.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has cautioned that areas north of Venezuela that intend to traffic drugs into the US will be considered legitimate targets by the US military.
In the previous Trump administration, US national security adviser, John Bolton, said that the US plans to form a coalition to change the Venezuelan government using the Monroe Doctrine as the basis for intervention.
“I’d like to see as broad a coalition as we can put together to replace Maduro. That’s what we are trying to do. In this administration, we’re not afraid to use the word Monroe Doctrine. […].
In 1823, US president James Monroe proclaimed the United States as the protector of the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine became a mainstay of US foreign policy, laying the groundwork for US expansionist and interventionist practices in the decades to come.
The Monroe Doctrine, as expressed during president Monroe’s seventh annual message to Congress, December 2, 1823, stated that “Further efforts by European nations to colonise land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring US intervention.
“The United States, Monroe asserted, would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor pry in the internal concerns of European countries. At the time when the doctrine was issued, only Cuba and Puerto Rico had achieved independence from the Spanish Empire in the Americas.”
The Caribbean region is now the new front-line not only against narcotics, and critical to the security of the US, but against influence from China, Russia, and Europe.
Venezuelan officials described US threats and actions in the region as an “imperialist invasion,” and that military action could destabilise the region.
OECS and CARICOM are encircled
In accordance with regional integration, the free movement of people, citizenship by investment (CBI/CIP), OECS and CARICOM are encircled.
The consequences of sovereignty, climate adaptation, democracy, trade and US intervention in the Caribbean, among other growing threats and complex issues with require more than just robust dialogue but unified action among institutions and government.
Grenada’s response will be interesting, noting that the US has multiple options and capabilities visible and invisible, throughout the Caribbean that are poised for modern and advanced capability.
The task ahead is for cooperation across OECS and CARICOM to represent true security, stability and a region of lasting partnership for the protection of democracy and a unique way of life.
Outside of this, the return of dominance by the US in the Caribbean as a forward operating theatre and the sphere of influence is identified as strategic to reclaiming the southern region.
The Caribbean once existed as colonies. The Monroe Doctrine realigned with the Third Border Initiative (TBI), an area of policy concerning United States – Partnership for Prosperity and Security, and presently, with military assets across the Caribbean, coupled with sanctions, satellites and radar control, is a symbolic expansion of repatriation.
