The Caribbean has long been framed as a “zone of peace” in global diplomacy. That vision is now under strain.
On September 2, President Donald Trump announced that US forces had struck what Washington described as a Venezuelan drug vessel in the southern Caribbean Sea, killing 11 people. Trump later claimed the ship was tied to the Tren de Aragua gang, a transnational criminal network that American officials link to both narcotics and violence. The Pentagon insists the mission was part of a wider effort to curb drug trafficking, stem illegal arms flows, and reinforce US borders.
But to Venezuela, the incident signalled something far more dangerous.
“Venezuela views with deep concern the deployment of warships and the nuclear submarine in the Caribbean,” Leiff Escalona, Venezuela’s ambassador to Saint Lucia, told St Lucia Times. “We have eight warships carrying 1,200 missiles and a nuclear submarine that are targeting Venezuela. And, as President Nicolas Maduro stated, this is one of the biggest threats that we have had in more than 100 years. This action undermines the charter of the United Nations and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) proclamation that declared our region as a zone of peace.”
Escalona insisted Venezuela poses no threat to its neighbours and argued that “external militarisation” is what truly endangers the region. She questioned the legitimacy of the US operation, saying she was awaiting confirmation on the details. “Can you imagine? We don’t have specific confirmation about that,” she said, suggesting the strike may have been designed to “justify new aggression against Venezuela” through “false scenarios” staged near Guyana or Trinidad and Tobago.
Venezuela has responded by raising its own readiness level. According to Escalona, more than 8.2 million citizens are now organised in a national defence system. “Venezuela is a peaceful nation, but it will not yield to provocations,” she said.
Her comments underscore a broader unease that is rippling through Caribbean capitals.
At the CARICOM level, foreign ministers have sought assurances from Washington that their territories will not be drawn into escalating tensions. Barbados’ Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds confirmed to Barbados TODAY that regional ministers have drafted a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressing for stronger consultation mechanisms.
“What effectively we are trying to do is to work through the diplomatic channels of making sure that there are no surprises,” Symmonds explained. “So that you get notification wherever it is feasible for actions that are going to have a foreseeable regional impact.”
Symmonds acknowledged that most Caribbean states support curbing narcotics and firearms trafficking, which have fuelled violence across Caribbean countries. But he cautioned that a military build-up off Venezuela’s coast risks unsettling the principle of the Caribbean Sea as a “zone of peace”. “I understand where that concern comes about,” he said, noting that Washington’s decision to place a bounty on President Maduro has only deepened anxieties.
The current standoff highlights the delicate position of small Caribbean nations, which depend on US cooperation on security and trade, but also share historical and political ties with Venezuela through initiatives such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). Grenada, Saint Lucia and other states have long balanced between those poles, navigating the benefits of Venezuelan energy programmes while seeking to avoid entanglement in Washington’s quarrels with Caracas.
Escalona stressed that Venezuela’s priority remains regional harmony. She pointed to recent meetings within CELAC where Latin American and Caribbean foreign ministers reaffirmed a shared commitment to sovereignty and peace. “We have to remind the brotherhood between Venezuela and the Caribbean,” she said. “It is not merely diplomatic; it is a historical legacy of struggle for sovereignty and justice.”
