Caribbean

For Trinidad and Tobago, having two Air Arms has led to duplication of effort that has rendered existing assets less effective than they otherwise might have been. A faulty procurement process has also led to an incompatibility of both aircraft and avionics.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• September 21, 2016
• IDSA Comments

A scramble for assets between the years 2013 and 2015 culminated in the procurement of a fleet of vessels that have restored a degree of capability and viability to the TTCG.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• August 26, 2016
• IDSA Comments

While there have been no studies on the motivation of Trinidadian Muslims to travel to join ISIS fighters, it is possible that the idea of the Caliphate has fired the imagination of disaffected youth.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• August 08, 2016
• IDSA Comments

China’s push for influence among the Caribbean political elite has been replicated with an equally determined effort to court the military and the bureaucratic elite in the region, often deftly stepping in to take advantage of senseless overreactions on the part of the United States.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• August 03, 2016
• IDSA Comments

On July 27, 1990, Trinidad experienced its own day of infamy when the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen staged an armed insurrection and held hostage the then Prime Minister, most of his cabinet and several opposition MPs, plus the staff of the television and radio networks.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• July 26, 2016
• IDSA Comments

A wealthy twin-island nation, Trinidad and Tobago has had few serious disasters to challenge its capacity to cope with such incidents. Although several plans for disaster management exist, these have remained largely th eoretical exercises. However, recent instances of devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, with the accompanying tsunami in the latter, have prompted some steps towards an enhanced role for the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) in disaster management.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• January 2012
• Journal of Defence Studies