PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has sought to defend her decision not to inform the country about the installation of United States (US) radar systems in Tobago even as she criticised the former administration for leaving the borders of Trinidad and Tobago “exposed”.

Earlier this week, Persad Bissessar, denied that the US presence on Tobago was for military purposes saying “they are helping us with something to do at the (Arthur NR Robinson International) airport,” she said, explaining that it had something to do with a roadway near the airport.

“It is not a military force as such. We are not about to launch any campaign against Venezuela,” she insisted. She has now acknowledged that she kept the reason for the US military presence here a secret, stating that  “Since it is a sensitive national security issue which provides for the protection of our territory and citizens, I did not think it was wise on Wednesday outside the Parliament, to publicly broadcast to narco and human traffickers as well as other criminals that we were installing a radar”.

“It would be counterproductive to our citizens’ safety,” she told the local media, while claiming that the security advantage has been lost, now that the upgrades have been exposed to local and transnational criminals.

Said the prime minister, “The radar is for real-time monitoring and surveillance of our air and sea territory. When we entered government, we found an existing radar system that was functioning sporadically and inefficiently and did not provide cover for our entire territory.

“Our Coast Guard could not even access data in real time, in addition to the system being compromised. I requested assistance for the supply of a radar system from the US Embassy on a temporary basis until we could get a permanent replacement for the existing system”.

On Friday, the Office of the Chief Secretary (OCS) of the Tobago House of Assembly said it was seeking full clarification from the government regarding the installation of the radar system at the ANR Robinson International Airport.

In a media release, the OCS confirmed that US personnel have been carrying out works at the airport, including the installation of a radar system designed to strengthen surveillance capabilities.

However, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said he only learned of the prime minister’s confirmation after completing a live interview late Wednesday.

Augustine reaffirmed Tobago’s neutral stance and emphasised that while foreign policy decisions fall under the purview of the central government, the THA’s priority is the island’s stability and security. He said he has since spoken with the prime minister and requested full details on the project.

The US had originally intended to set up a radar system at the Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada, but the authorities in St George’s did not meet Washington’s deadline saying it was still awaiting a technical report on the project, even as some Grenadians staged protest action against the installation of the radar system.

Persad-Bissessar has been very supportive of the United States military action against the so-called illegal drugs trade in the Caribbean, even though Washington has come under international criticism over the deaths of alleged narco-traffickers in international waters.

She is on record as saying that that those involved in the illegal drugs trade should be killed “violently”.

Political observers say that the US war on drugs in the region is a pretext for seeking to oust the Nicolas Maduro government in Venezuela, which has itself criticised the Persad-Bissessar government of allowing her country to be used to carry out regime change in the South American country.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said that land strikes against Venezuela will start “very soon”.