Cedros, Trinidad and Tobago
The coastal area known as Cedros lies on a peninsula at the South-Western end of the island of Trinidad. Located at the tip of the peninsula, Cedros lies mere miles off the coast of Venezuela. Cedros has historically been a fishing village and coconut grove, producing much of the coconuts for harvest.
Widely considered on the island as a rural area, the proximity of Cedros to the South American mainland has led to many drug cartels from South America trying to bring their cargoes via the Gulf of Paria into the Caribbean region or though Cedros. As a countermeasure to suppress the drug trade using Venezuela, the Venezuelan government routinely sends gunships to patrol the waters between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Cedros is a key area in that fight. Counter-measures by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in Cedros include a jetty for quickly launching boats for drug interdiction.
Cedros is considered to be one of the final remaining areas that millions of years ago attached the island of Trinidad geologically to the South American continent. Cedros is said to still share resemblance to the adjacent Venezuelan coastline 11-12km across the passage of water known as Boca del Serpiente (Serpent's Mouth).
Smelter
In 2005-06, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago led by the Prime Minister of T&T - Patrick Manning announced an initiative to rapidly industrialise the Cedros area. One of the projects devised for Cedros was the establishment of an Alumina smelter plant which was backed by ALCOA. Residents living in the Cedros area opposed the project. The plant was touted as becoming one of the biggest alumina smelter plants in the world once completed; however, residents in Cedros claimed that ash from the plant could contaminate the local area's soil and may lead to possible respiratory-health issues in the long run.[1][2][3][4] The Smelter project was cancelled in September 2010.[5]
Notable natives of Cedros
- Mervyn Malcolm Dymally, Lieutenant Governor of California, 1975-79; and U.S. Representative from California 31st District, 1981-93; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2004.
- Lauderic Caton, jazz guitarist
References
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