After Strikes, US Embassy Issues Warning to Americans

The US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago cautioned Americans on Saturday to stay away from American government facilities on the twin-island nation. It was an unusual warning that came as tensions grow between the US and Venezuela over deadly Pentagon strikes in Caribbean waters targeting suspected drug traffickers, the AP reports. Venezuela is located just miles away from Trinidad, where people in one community are mourning the disappearance of two local fishermen believed killed in a US strike on Tuesday.

The alert is based on threats directed at American citizens in the Caribbean nation, with US authorities saying they "could be linked" to ongoing tensions in the region, said Trinidad and Tobago's minister of homeland security, Roger Alexander. Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago have responded to the threats by implementing security measures, he said. Local authorities declined to share details about the reported threats. Six strikes have killed at least 28 people since early September; the tension in the region was mentioned by US officials in a briefing with authorities in Trinidad and Tobago, Alexander said. After the most recent attack on a vessel in the Caribbean, US forces took survivors into custody.