While U.S. President Donald Trump has said that his administration has “Cuba on our mind,” the U.S. Navy has been sailing through the Southern Caribbean, making calls on Caribbean Community countries, and engaging some of its top leaders on offshore day trips.
In the past week, the USS Nimitz, the oldest super aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet, made calls offshore to Suriname and Guyana with American officials boasting about the increasing closeness of relations between the U.S. military, the administration, and the countries themselves.
It is not clear, however, whether the Nimitz, commissioned in 1975 and slated for retirement in the coming months, is actually sailing in the Caribbean on a goodwill tour or whether its presence has anything to do with American saber-rattling over Cuba.
It is also not clear whether offshore or actual port calls will be made in neighboring Trinidad and further north up the island chain heading to Cuba, as is being speculated on social media and in other quarters. Trinidad is perhaps the U.S.’s closest ally in the 15-nation grouping.
In both instances in the past week, senior cabinet ministers, military officers, and other top officials were flown out to the carrier as it anchored offshore. In Suriname’s case, several cabinet ministers, senior military officers, and journalists were on the day trip, while in Guyana, President Irfaan Ali, a slew of cabinet ministers, advisers, and officers made the trip to the vessel.
Officials say that the offshore call on the two can be put in the context of the growing geopolitical importance of Suriname and Guyana, as both are flush with oil, gas, and a slew of other resources, including gold, bauxite, uranium, diamonds, and other raw materials.
Since 2019, Guyana has been producing offshore oil led by U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil and its consortium partners at a current rate of around 900,000 barrels per day. Suriname, on the other hand, is preparing for actual production in 2028. Experts have said that their supe- light crude will always be a hit in the petroleum world. And both sides spoke of the growing relations between governments, the U.S., and the respective militaries.
“You are a very important regional partner and this is a strategically very important moment,” said Rear Admiral Cassidy Norman. “We are interested in continuing to build a partnership with you based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and our shared interests in the region as Cabinet Ministers Uraiqit Ramsaran, Harish Monorath, and Patrick Brunings listened. “We focus on cooperation between our countries and security, specifically to ensure stability, predictability, and prosperity in this region,” leading newspaper de Ware Tijd quoted him saying.
Similar sentiments were shared for the Guyana leg on Saturday as well. “The United States and Guyana share a commitment to regional security and prosperity. The visit of the USS Nimitz demonstrates our dedication to working hand-in-hand with Guyana and our Caribbean partners to address shared challenges and build a safer, stronger hemisphere for all our citizens,” Ambassador Nicole Theriot said.
Ali, for his part, noted that the trip represented the “greatest honor to join some of the finest men and women in uniform on board the USS Nimitz as we celebrate partnership, friendship, and our collective goal of ensuring a region built on peace, democracy, and the shared values of the members of the Shield of the Americas. I pray for God’s blessing, guidance, and protection for all our men and women in uniform as we work tirelessly in support of the development, prosperity, and friendship of our two nations.”
And giving an insight of what can flow from such close cooperation, the U.S. mission in Guyana spoke of how joint collaboration can deal with transnational crimes. “Our partnership extends beyond military exercises. Under the Shiprider Agreement between the United States and Guyana, Guyanese law enforcement officers embark on U.S. law enforcement vessels to assist in conducting counter-drug patrols and pursuing suspected drug traffickers that flee into Guyanese territorial waters — a testament to our collaborative approach to combating transnational crime.”
Officials say no one would be surprised if the Nimitz makes Trinidad and Tobago its next stop. The federation had publicly lined up behind the U.S. in the action it took against Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, while attacking its regional neighbors for either remaining neutral or for demanding that the South Caribbean remain a zone of peace, free from any superpower military conflict.