Solidarity actions with the people of Trinidad and Tobago against Zones of Special Operations Bill

Solidarity actions with the people of Trinidad and Tobago against Zones of Special Operations Bill
Resist US-Led War call for action, January 23, 2025

Calling for solidarity:
We invite our network to show solidarity with the people in Trinidad and Tobago who are facing far right policies designed to destabilize their communities under a new Zones of Special Operations bill being currently considered (as of Jan 23) in the national Parliament.

To support members and allies are invited  show support to:
1.   take photos with the placards
2. Make posts with the photos ASAP and use the hashtag #NOtozosoTT
3. Release statements to expose the Zones of Special Operations to show the international pressure against US neocolonialism and strong arming policies that will hurt the people.

Placards for photo campaign: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG_PxlNH6U/Tin4rCgt7jLpUGvyCKAh7g/edit?utm_content=DAG_PxlNH6U&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

The Trinidad and Tobago islands are home to a people who have fought against colonialism, by the British, Spanish, French, and Dutch; and neocolonialism by the US and have been subjected to Trump like policies under the most recent Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago of the United National Congress (UNC), a party in Trinidad. Instead of looking at the roots of crime and poverty inflicted by neoliberal policies in Trinidad and Tobago, the United National Congress (UNC) is proposing a crime bill that will place the people under intense police violence, surveillance and at risk of arbitrary and illegal detention, called the Zones of Special Operations.

The U.S. repeatedly uses "wars" on drugs and gangs as pretexts for intervention and militarization. In Haiti, the "Gang Suppression Force" uses this narrative to suppress the populace. In Trinidad and Tobago, security partnerships with SOUTHCOM, formalized via operations like Tradewinds, are publicly promoted as combating crime and delivering aid. However, these efforts primarily serve to advance U.S. strategic dominance, embedding Trinidad within a broader framework of militarized control over the Caribbean region.

In Trinidad and Tobago, as the US recently has deployed troops, military equipment and installed a new radar base - using Trinidad and Tobago as part of the launching pad for operations in Venezuela. While the Trinidad and Tobago government ramps up the crack down on poor and oppressed people internally, it aims to destabilize the communities there, at a key time while their resistance and regional unity to fight back against US imperialism is urgently needed and being organized by the people!
Context on the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) in Trinidad and Tobago:

1. The ZOSO legislation grants police and joint security forces enhanced powers, leading to the stigmatization of specific communities, particularly inner-city and poorer areas.
2. Under the act, law enforcement can search persons, homes, and vehicles without warrants and seize property based on suspicion.
3. Citizens can be restricted from entering or leaving designated zones with little or no notice, and these zones can be instituted for up to six months and extended for a year without Senate approval.
4. This expansion of authority conveniently serves to suppress dissent and protests at a time when the U.S., through agencies like ICE and in support of the IOF, is contributing to regional destabilization.
5. People in Trinidad and Tobago are watching a bill that could allow expanded police powers and curfews in defined zones without adequate safeguards, a concerning development for civil liberties.
   

Objectives:

1. Mobilize Resist US-Led War Movement members and allies to show solidarity with the people of Trinidad and Tobago against right wing state repression policy and US intervention in the Caribbean
2. Generate propaganda that shows resistance against US/Trump policy of "re"-militarizing the Western Hemisphere
3. Expose and educate our members on SOUTHCOM
4. Expose tactics of militarization in the neo-colonies and consequences of militarization, current deployment of US forces in operations against Venezuela
   

Learn more about the Zone of Special Operations:

• Graphics from Trinbego for Palestine: https://www.instagram.com/p/DT23Cb2jjmu/?igsh=NDYxY3djd3Rjb2Fz
• Movement For Social Justice "Tuesday Talk" https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CHmApbJqL/
• https://www.tv6tnt.com/news/7pmnews/msj-hopes-zones-bill-is-rejected-in-the-senate/article_a726bb30-6b97-442c-a598-cb2a2f46ca3e.html?
• Black Alliance for Peace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5HO99jx5c0
• Reference bill: