Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell used the opportunity of a parliamentary debate on Tuesday to update Grenadians on a US request to establish a radar system to monitor nearby Venezuela, and he gave clear signals that talks are at a very advanced stage.
Saying that no decision would be made in secret, Mitchell stated that Grenada received a formal request from the Trump administration in August to establish the site at the Maurice Bishop International Airport. However, no final decision on the request has been made by him or the cabinet as yet.
His parliamentary update has come amid a groundswell of opposition to the setting up of the radar, with many Grenadians, including NGO activists, arguing that the island nation should stay clear of the big power, geopolitics of US plans to take some form of military action against Venezuela. Washington has argued that the presence of a massive armada of warships and fighter jets near Venezuela is there to curb narcotic traffic, mainly of cocaine shipments to the US via Trinidad and other hemispheric nations. Critics say the administration is using drugs as an excuse both to get rid of President Nicolas Maduro and to probably access its giant oil and gas sector for American companies.
PM Mitchell says the cabinet will be careful to ensure that any decision made does not violate local and international laws.
“We will not enter into an agreement which, from a Grenadian perspective, has any possibility of violating Grenada’s domestic law or violating international law. As it stands right now, like I said, the technical discussions are largely what have been taking place. I wish to assure the public that we will not make any decisions on this matter in secret and not disclose it to the public, and in any event, it cannot be kept a secret; you cannot hide a radar if it’s at the Maurice Bishop International Airport,” he said.
He also announced that technical officials from the US had scouted at least two possible sites on the island in recent weeks, noting that they had ultimately chosen the main airport as the most suitable site to establish the radar system. Grenada is 100 miles north of Venezuela.
“In light of the ongoing discussion that we would have held with them on the technical issues, they have come back and indicated that they are interested, perhaps in one site. They have also indicated that they wish to have a response by a particular time. We have not been able to provide that response for the simple reason, just from a technical point of view, we are not in a position to satisfy ourselves as to the safety and other technical requirements as to whether or not it will be safe at the airport,” PM Mitchell told the house.
Grenada is one of several Caribbean Community countries being eyed by the US, through its Florida-based Southern Command, to allow for the establishment of various forms of military facilities as Washington refocuses on a region it had admittedly neglected in the past and one that it regards as its ‘Third Border.’ Antigua has already stated that no foreign military assets will be permitted in the federation, including Barbuda.
Critics say the race against time to reinforce the US’s presence in the region, as China has been courting various countries, winning massive procurement and construction tenders, and generally strengthening relations with multiple governments.
