First in Line: T&T Signs Washington’s Terror List as the Sea Keeps Its Dead

Port of Spain has become the first Shield of the Americas member to formally adopt Washington’s list of “narco-terrorist” organisations. The designation carries no legal licence to kill. But in waters where US missiles have already claimed 234 lives, it may supply something almost as useful: political cover.

By Calvin G. Brown (WiredJA)-The applause came from Washington before most Trinidadians had heard what their government had done. On Monday morning, the United States Embassy in Port of Spain announced on social media that Trinidad and Tobago had become the first member of the Shield of the Americas to join Washington in designating 25 criminal organisations as foreign terrorist organisations.

Juan Pablo Segura, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, quickly hailed it as “another major step forward” in confronting what he called the scourge of narco-terrorism. It was a diplomatic gold star. For a twin-island republic sitting seven miles off Venezuela, in waters where US forces have been firing on small boats for a year, it may prove a costly one.