Word: grenada
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Shortly after taking office in 1981, the Reagan Administration told Bishop that his ties to Cuba posed a threat to the peace of the region. As relations with the U.S. worsened, Grenada's links with the Kremlin grew more open. Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard visited Moscow in May 1980, where he signed a treaty giving the Soviets permission to land their long-range reconnaissance planes, the TU-95, on Grenada when the new airport was completed...
...visit to Barbados in April 1982, Reagan complained to Prime Minister Tom Adams and Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga about the "spread of the virus" of Communism from Grenada. The two Caribbean leaders shared the President's concern. Recalled a presidential aide who was there: "They really beat up on us about Grenada...
Reagan's concern apparently grew when Bishop visited Moscow in July 1982 and said there that the Soviet Union had granted Grenada long-term financial credits to construct a land station linked to a Soviet communications satellite...
...world's supply of nutmeg. Declared the President: "It isn't nutmeg that's at stake in the Caribbean and Central America. It is the U.S. national security." In a TV speech 13 days later, he showed a classified photo of the Cuban barracks on Grenada and the growing airstrip. "Grenada doesn't even have an air force," Reagan said. "Who is this intended for?" He answered his own question: "The Soviet-Cuban militarization of Grenada can only be seen as power projection into the region...
...Back in Grenada, Bishop told colleagues in his New Jewel Movement that he wanted to test Washington's intentions. He talked of opening a dialogue with the U.S. and toned down his anti-American rhetoric. In response, according to officials both in Washington and in some of Grenada's neighboring islands, Cuba encouraged the harder-line deputy, Coard, to push Bishop out. But this effort spun wildly out of control...