U.S. AIR AND NAVAL ASSETS ARE NOW POSITIONED FOR REAL-TIME OPERATIONS

By Pearce Robinson

Satellite images from Sentinel-2 confirm that the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group is positioned off the coast of Trinidad & Tobago as part of the U.S. joint military manoeuvres running November 16–21.

• USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) is positioned 69 km north of Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula
Coordinates: 11.356, -61.691

• USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer are 21 km from Isla de Patos
Coordinates: 10.455, -61.792

At the same time, real-time air tracking shows a U.S. Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker (call sign DREW11) operating directly in the corridor north of Venezuela and west of Trinidad & Tobago.

Aerial refuelling tankers only appear when there is sustained, coordinated air activity to support.

When you combine:

• the Gerald R. Ford strike group
• the USS Gravely
• the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
• the Iwo Jima ARG
• and now a KC-135R running tracks over the same zone

…it becomes clear that the Caribbean basin has shifted from a training environment to a forward operational theatre. The distance between these platforms and Venezuelan territory is measured in minutes.

https://www.theguardian.com/wo....rld/2025/nov/16/cari

https://www.theguardian.com/wo....rld/2025/nov/16/cari

https://www.bbc.com/sport/foot....ball/articles/cdeg0w

https://flyairpeace.com/blog/f....rom-lagos-and-accra-

British colonization of the West Indies, some Time Lines:

17th Century


1609: Adventurers settle Bermuda
1623: English settlement begins on St. Christopher (St. Kitts).
1625: England claims Barbados.
1628: Settlement begins on Nevis.
1632: Settlements are established on Antigua and Montserrat.
1639: First attempt to settle St.Lucia, taken in 1814.
1647: Settlement of Bahamas.
1655: England captures Jamaica from a small Spanish garrison.
1661: The Barbados Code, was a set of laws that established the legal framework for slavery in the British colony of Barbados the main part was that they are to be deemed as chattel.
1670: England captures Tortola from the Dutch, establishing control over the British Virgin Islands.
1674: Sir William Stapleton establishes the first British federation, the General Assembly of the Leewards, though it was unpopular.
1681: Settle Turks&Caicos

18th Century

1730s: Jamaica becomes the largest producer of sugar in the British Caribbean.
1738/9: The Maroon treaties in Jamaica, signed agreements between the British colonizers and the escaped slave communities known as Maroons. In exchange for freedom, land, and political autonomy, the Maroons agreed to assist the British by capturing other runaways and helping to suppress rebellions. The most famous treaty was with the Trelawny Town Maroons, which was negotiated with Captain Cudjoe
1760: Tacky's Revolt occurs in Jamaica.
1762/3: Settlement of Tobago.
1763: Settlement of Dominica.
1763: First attempt to settle Grenada, ceded in 1783.
1763: First attempt to settle on St.Vincent finally ceded in1783.
1795/6: Fedon Rebelion Grenada.
1796-1814: Conquest of British Guiana.
1798: Slavery amelioration act
1798: The General Assembly of the Leewards meets one last time.
1797-1802: Settlement of Trinidad.

19th Century

1805: Battle of Trafalgar ensuring British dominance.
1807: The British Parliament passes an act abolishing the slave trade in British territories.
1816: Barbados Easter Rebellion, Washington Pitt Franklin
1823: Demerara Slave revolt Jack Gladstone.
1831: The Jamaican Slave Revolt (or Baptist War) occurs.
1834: Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, with a period of "apprenticeship" following.

20th Century
1930s: Rebellion throughout the colonies which caused the Moyne commission to be established in 1938.
1945: Moyne report presented
1956: The British Caribbean Federation Act is passed, creating the West Indies Federation.
1962: Collapse of the Federation.

Guiana Shield: A Biodiversity Hotspot and Ecological ...
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Oct 24, 2024 — The Guiana Shield is a vast and ancient geological formation located in northeastern South America, spanning across six countries: Colombia, ...

https://libraries.wm.edu/blog/....special-collections/

Yesterday, we proudly joined Sint Eustatius' National Day to commemorate the 249th anniversary of the “First Salute” to the flag of the United States, fired in this port on November 16, 1776, by order of Governor of Sint Eustatius Johannes de Graaff in response to a national gun salute fired by the U.S. brig-of-war Andrew Doria, under Captain Isaiah Robinson of the Continental Navy. Here in Statia, the sovereignty of the United States of America was first formally acknowledged by another country.

This symbolic act by Sint Eustatius and the Netherlands laid the foundation for a centuries-long friendship between our nations.

Statia Government

https://www.history.com/this-d....ay-in-history/novemb