Spain Port, Trinidad (AP) — Kenrik Modi finished on a recent afternoon with a fishing net ringing in a quiet Caribbean village.
As he slipped into a hammock at his home overlooking the ocean, he worried that his life and livelihood would be wiped out by a US military strike.
Modi lives in a country of twin islands in the Caribbean Trinidad and TobagoCurrently, it is geopolitical intertwined The showdown between the US and Venezuelaonly 11 miles away.
President Donald Trump “given instructions to shoot people and kill them,” Modi said. Recent US military strikes It targets suspicious drug containers in the Caribbean to enhance its military presence in the region. “What can we do? We’re a bit of a point.”
His concerns have been raised after Trump declared With the memo I got The Associated Press claims that the US is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels in the Caribbean, and is trying to bring “fatal poison” to the US coast. And on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said He ordered another strike In a small boat, he accused him of carrying drugs in waters off the coast of Venezuela. It’s fourth in the revelation that Trump told lawmakers he was treating drug traffickers as illegal combatants.
Meanwhile, Venezuela denounced and urged the United States for military accumulation and attacks President Nicolas Maduro They are willing to be willing to be vigilant to the nation’s military and civilians.
Stuck in the middle is Trinidad and Tobago, a country with tens of millions of dollars in fisheries, employing thousands of fishermen who throw nets almost every day to maintain themselves and their families.
“If we die, we die.”
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamura Persad Bissessar The drug cartel said it was contributing to the pain and suffering of her country, and she urged the United States to “kill them violently.”
She also said Americans can protect Guyana from neighbouring Venezuela as they are willing to grant the US access to Trinidad and Tobago, if necessary. They claim that two-thirds of Guyana are their own.
Maduro said Persad Bissessar’s willingness to grant such access was like declaring a war with Venezuela. The Venezuelan president is calling for a return to good relations with his Caribbean neighbors, despite the Trinidad and Tobago government claiming there is no bad blood between the country.
While the authoritative people are taking the stance of words and military commanders, dozens of fishermen in Trinidad and Tobago feel their lives are at risk given the ongoing US strikes and escalation of tensions with Venezuela.
“If we die, we die, that’s how this life is,” Modi said.
He fears being killed on a US strike while fishing. Because he believes his boat could be mistaken for a drug-crowded ship. Modi said he never saw substantial evidence of them Killed on a US strike It was certainly transporting drugs. He is also concerned that an innocent fisherman has been murdered and mislabeled as a narcoterrorist by the authorities, and the dead man is unable to clear his name.
Fear fishing
Just 7 miles away, Trinidad and Venezuela are closest to each other. On sunny days, Venezuela is visible from the village of Ikakos at the tip of the southwest of Trinidad.
Driving around Ikakos and nearby villages of Cedros, dozens of boats scattered along the coastline show how heavily these communities rely on fishing.
Fishermen in these two villages say they are already under threat from pirates, and the military accumulation at the sea is now adding another threat.
Kamal Vikelan saw three other fishermen drop off their catch of the day at the Cedros Fisheries Facility and said his crew is currently not heading towards the sea as before due to tensions involving the three countries.
“The US comes there and the Venezuelan military says they have more of them, so you need to be careful,” Vicelan said. “Anytime you can go outside and you could be taken away.”
Forced to fish in shallow waters, Bikeran and other fishermen said tensions in the area are rising as the fish are catching fewer fish.
Trump gave fishermen a reason to worry after the first military strike of the US military on September 2. He said he killed 11 suspected drug terrorist..
“Boat traffic has been declining significantly,” Trump said in early September. “I don’t know about fishermen either. They might say, ‘I’m not on a boat.’ ”
Two more deadly US strikes followed. At least two of the three operations took place on vessels born from Venezuela, attacking several Caribbean leaders.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in late September, Caribbean leaders called the region a zone of peace.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for dialogue to avoid a war between the United States and Venezuela. Prime Minister St. Vincent and Grenazin’s Ralph Goncalves described the militarization of overseas near Venezuela as “very troublesome.”
Fearful fishing has become a new reality, said Sham Hajari, a fisherman for over 40 years. Cedros’ native, like everyone else, relies on his daily catch to support his family. He doesn’t know if military accumulation in the Caribbean will soon affect the price of fish in the market.
“I just hope everything goes well in this situation with Venezuela and the United States,” he said. “They are not war, they are to make peace.”
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