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US Navy Destroyer and Marines Arrive in Trinidad Island Near Venezuela Amid Strategic Tensions.
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) and Marines from the 22nd Expeditionary Unit have arrived in Trinidad for joint drills with local forces. The move places American forces close to Venezuelan waters, signaling a heightened U.S. security focus in the southern Caribbean.
On 23 October 2025, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs announced that the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) will moor in Port of Spain from October 26 to 30 while the 22nd U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit conducts joint training with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. As reported by the Ministry, the engagement underscores Washington’s commitment to security cooperation in the Caribbean amid a period of sharpened regional vigilance. The visit also entails temporary port adjustments in the capital, reflecting the operational footprint of a front-line U.S. combatant ship. Crucially, these activities unfold a few miles from Venezuela’s coast, placing U.S. forces in immediate proximity to one of the hemisphere’s most sensitive strategic environments.
With USS Gravely alongside in Port of Spain and the 22nd MEU training with the TTDF, both nations are investing in interoperability that yields immediate readiness gains while projecting a clear regional security message just off the Venezuelan coast (Picture Source: France-Guyana.fr/US Navy)
The deployment centers on a proven U.S. Navy asset. USS Gravely is an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA Aegis destroyer commissioned in 2010, designed for multi-mission operations across air defense, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and maritime security. With speeds above 30 knots and a crew of roughly 300+, the ship integrates the Aegis combat system, SPY-1D(V) radar, vertical launch cells for area-air defense and long-range precision strike, a 127 mm main gun, close-in defenses, and an embarked helicopter detachment, capabilities that translate into persistent sensing, layered protection, and command-and-control for joint activities in congested littorals. The Gravely’s presence conveys both reassurance to partners and a deterrent signal to malign actors, while providing a sea-based platform for coordinated drills alongside the TTDF.
On shore and at sea, the five-day window is structured around interoperability. According to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, engagements will include expert exchanges in core infantry tactics, maintenance procedures, and advanced medical capabilities, leveraging TTDF facilities to raise tactical proficiency and improve readiness. Local port authorities have already notified stakeholders that selected container berths will pause operations during the visit to accommodate the U.S. naval vessel, highlighting the scale and logistical coordination associated with a destroyer port call. These steps are standard for high-security naval movements and align with the visit’s stated objectives: strengthening day-to-day practical cooperation and institutional trust between forces.
The parallel involvement of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit adds an amphibious and crisis-response dimension to the engagement. A MEU is the Marine Corps’ forward-deployed, rapid-response Marine Air-Ground Task Force, tailored to conduct a spectrum of missions, from humanitarian assistance and non-combatant evacuations to maritime interdiction and limited objective raids. The 22nd MEU’s recent integration exercises with Amphibious Squadron 8 indicate a unit trained to embark, deploy, and operate jointly with Navy platforms at short notice. In Trinidad and Tobago, such a unit can rehearse small-unit tactics, ship-to-shore coordination, and medical support procedures alongside TTDF counterparts, reinforcing combined readiness for scenarios that range from disaster response to maritime security incidents.
Geography elevates the significance of this deployment. Trinidad sits just across the Dragon’s Mouths channel from Venezuela, variously cited at roughly 11 to 15 kilometers at the narrowest points, placing U.S. and TTDF activities within immediate reach of Venezuelan littorals and the Gulf of Paria sea lines. In operational terms, that proximity compresses response times, enhances maritime domain awareness, and, if required, enables rapid transition from training to contingency support for search-and-rescue, counter-narcotics, or maritime law-enforcement operations that routinely intersect the broader southern Caribbean. It also increases the visibility of U.S. posture to Caracas, which will likely read these movements through the lens of regional security dynamics and cross-border illicit flows.
For Port of Spain and Washington alike, the week’s agenda aligns with a longer arc of defense cooperation. Trinidad and Tobago is a key node for energy infrastructure and maritime trade in the southern Caribbean; its forces regularly partner with U.S. agencies on counter-trafficking and maritime security. The destroyer’s mooring and the MEU’s training cycles create practical venues to update tactics, test communications and medical protocols, and refine maintenance and logistics integration under realistic conditions. The Ministry’s framing of the visit, as part of sustained regional cooperation, matches recent patterns of U.S. naval presence and combined training in the Caribbean aimed at deterring transnational threats and ensuring freedom of navigation. Public notices about berth closures and heightened security around the port further illustrate how civilian infrastructure support is synchronized with defense activities to minimize disruption while meeting protection requirements.
Strategically, operating this close to Venezuela carries calibrated intent. A modern Aegis destroyer alongside a forward-postured MEU signals that the United States can surge maritime sensors, air defense umbrellas, and rapid-reaction forces into the southern Caribbean on short timelines. This amplifies U.S. leverage across missions that matter in the region, from interdicting illicit maritime traffic to safeguarding critical energy corridors, and underscores the political message that partners in the hemisphere have credible security options at hand. For Trinidad and Tobago, the drills enhance skills, equipment familiarity, and command integration that can be applied just as readily to hurricane response or mass-casualty events as to maritime interdiction. For observers in Caracas, the activities are a reminder that the Caribbean security architecture remains closely knit and responsive in waters that directly abut Venezuelan territory.
The announcement on 23 October 2025 marks a purposeful deepening of U.S.–Trinidad and Tobago defense ties at a strategically sensitive maritime chokepoint. With USS Gravely alongside in Port of Spain and the 22nd MEU training with the TTDF, both nations are investing in interoperability that yields immediate readiness gains while projecting a clear regional security message just off the Venezuelan coast.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.