U.S. Embassy · 2023–2026
Purchase, work, foundations and the half-billion figure
Announces the purchase of 137 Long Circular Road, Maraval, at a signing ceremony on 5 April. Ambassador Candace Bond calls it 'an important and exciting project'; the U.S. government 'will invest more than US$400 million to plan, design, and build the new U.S. Embassy'. OBO and the embassy announce the start of work at 137 Long Circular Road. Chargé d'Affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz: 'We are delighted that the two large, historic Samaan trees on the property are to be preserved in the final landscape plan.' The release apologises for noise and intermittent traffic disruption. Reports the embassy's post on foundation works: 'This phase reflects our commitment to building a secure and modern facility'. The project is expected to be completed in 2029 and to employ hundreds of nationals. 'The U.S. government is investing over US$500 million to plan, design, and build the new U.S. embassy in Port of Spain. In addition to providing scores of jobs, the project will showcase state-of-the-art and eco-friendly designs.' Reports the embassy's revised figure and its statement that the project will support 'scores of jobs'.
Video · 13 April 2023
The embassy's announcement film
The embassy's own announcement film. Its description records OBO's acquisition of 137 Long Circular Road as the new embassy site and the 5 April signing ceremony. Names Joseph Fernandes of Champs Elysees Ltd, the former owner, and State Department official Christin Martinelli at the signing; reports the embassy 'has been at Marli Street since 1962'; quotes Bond's video: 'While it will take a few years before we relocate to the new site, we are really looking forward to this new chapter and our new home.'
AMCHAM T&T · 12 June 2026
“Over half a billion U.S. dollars”
'The U.S. Government is investing over half a billion U.S. dollars on a large new embassy campus.' He recalls 'our last official function at the shuttered Country Club in January 2025', calls the embassy 'a symbol of our commitment—not just to diplomacy, but to partnership, prosperity, and the decades ahead', and describes Trinidad and Tobago as 'a centerpiece of a southern Caribbean energy corridor'.
Federal contracts · 2020–2026
Design, tender and construction
Delivery order to Mark Cavagnero Associates from the State Department, funded by OBO: original award US$947,251; project development services added in September 2022; total value US$14,498,552.70. 'The estimated construction cost is approximately $315,000,000 - $325,000,000'. Site: 137 Long Circular Road at the intersection of Saddle Road, 4.5 hectares (11.1 acres). Prequalification notice listing the design/build scope, ending with 'Pool and Cabana (Optional)'. Contract to Caddell Construction Co. Scope: site/compound development, New Office Building, Main Compound Access Control, Consular Compound Access Control, Service Compound Access Control, Marine Security Guard Residence, support annex/warehouse, utility building 'and an optional pool and cabana'. Potential value has risen from US$333,892,822 to US$353,585,673; potential end date extended from 30 January 2029 to 24 March 2029.
Architect · project record
165,000 square feet on 11 acres
165,000 square feet on an 11-acre site in Maraval replacing the Queen's Park facility; three arrival points with views into the landscape; sun and rain canopies at public entrances; public transit access. Status: bridging documents complete. Design-build contractor Caddell Construction Co.; architect of record DLR Group; Thornton Tomasetti for structural, blast, physical security and façade engineering; Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering for aquatic design. The architect's published aerial rendering, reproduced in the article with credit, shows a pool beside a pavilion behind the office building.
National Trust · 1782–2020s
From Les Champs Élysées to the Country Club
Traces the site from the Lezama holding to Philippe Rose Roume de Saint-Laurent's 1782 purchase of 22.4 acres for his mother Rosa, who arrived with 75 enslaved Africans and assembled about 927 acres as Les Champs Élysées; the Great House rebuilt c.1870 in estate stone; the house and 12 acres sold in 1932 to Huggins and Company; dance hall, tennis courts and pool added; J.B. Fernandes's 1953 acquisition; and the attack on its exclusivity by Dr Eric Williams and others from the 1950s. The Trust records that Rosa was buried in the garden near the great house, 'ostensibly on the same spot that Trinidad Country Club was built', and that the club's exclusivity was criticised into the 21st century.
Press reports · 2022–2023
Heritage inventory, sale and signing
Reports that National Trust representatives visited the site with U.S. Embassy officials in 2021 because it is on the Heritage Asset Inventory, and that tennis players were told to vacate. Reports a family dispute over 'the recent sale of the Trinidad Country Club (TCC) in Maraval to the United States Embassy at a cost of $316 million'. The passage does not state the currency. Names Joseph Fernandes of Champs Elysees Ltd, the former owner, and State Department official Christin Martinelli at the signing; reports the embassy 'has been at Marli Street since 1962'; quotes Bond's video: 'While it will take a few years before we relocate to the new site, we are really looking forward to this new chapter and our new home.'
Historical record · 1940–1962
Bases and the embassy
The destroyers-for-bases exchange: Britain grants base sites including 'the west coast of Trinidad in the Gulf of Paria'. Diplomatic relations and the American Embassy in Port-of-Spain established on 31 August 1962, with William H. Christensen as chargé d'affaires ad interim; first ambassador Robert G. Miner presented credentials on 1 December 1962.
U.S. Code · 1986–2022
The statutes that shape the compound
The Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 makes the Secretary responsible for 'technical and physical security programs, including security-related construction'. Co-location: in locations with certain threat ratings, all U.S. government personnel at post (with listed exceptions) 'will be located on the site'. Setback: the former text required new facilities to be sited 'not less than 100 feet from the perimeter of the property'; since 2022 a facility may instead meet 'the measured building blast performance standard' for that distance or equivalent criteria.
Attacks · 1983–2012
Beirut, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Benghazi
April 1983: a truck bomb outside the Beirut embassy killed 63 employees, including 17 U.S. diplomatic and military personnel. The Department then began 'a $1-billion program for more than 60 construction projects worldwide'. On 7 August 1998 nearly simultaneous bombs exploded at the embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. 224 people died, including 12 Americans; more than 4,500 were wounded. Convened under the 1986 Act to examine the 11–12 September 2012 killings of four U.S. government personnel in Benghazi, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.
Regional context · 2025–2026
Warships, Caracas and the energy corridor
Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča: an increased U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean was first reported in mid-August, described by the United States as an operation 'to stop drugs from flooding into the United States'. Protesters gathered outside the U.S. Embassy after an American warship docked in Port of Spain as Washington increased military pressure on Venezuela. AP Archive video of the arrival and protest is embedded in the article. The State Department says the United States and Venezuela's interim authorities will restore relations to 'promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation'. The United States formally reopens its embassy in Caracas, citing 'a new chapter' in relations.
China in Maraval · 2014–2026
The embassy across the road
Ambassador Song Yumin opened the new Chinese Embassy on the Wednesday evening, 'its largest embassy in the English-speaking Caribbean region', on two and a half acres at 76 Long Circular Road, 'located opposite the Trinidad Country Club'. The property includes flats for staff, tennis courts and a swimming pool; construction by Chinese developers began four years earlier. The Minister records that the embassy hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for the chancery on 19 August 2014, following the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Trinidad and Tobago and China. On 15 October the administration announced aid and financing commitments worth more than US$340 million for CARICOM after a Washington meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, amid 'mounting concern in DC about China's growing influence'. Weeks earlier Landau visited Guyana and Trinidad, unveiling plans for American private investment including steel production in Trinidad.
Intelligence and military reach · 1965–2026
Attachés, listening posts and the Tobago radar
Defines the Defense Attaché Office as 'a DoD organization assigned to a U.S. diplomatic mission overseas for the purposes of overt gathering of military information', military liaison, and membership of the embassy country team. Records that the Defense Attaché System came under the DIA director on 1 July 1965, with the objective 'to provide a more efficient system for the collection of intelligence information for DoD components', and that attaché offices are located at U.S. embassies. From documents in the Edward Snowden archive and interviews with intelligence officials, Der Spiegel reports that U.S. intelligence agencies used the American Embassy in Berlin as a listening station, and that 'from the roof of the embassy, a special unit of the CIA and NSA' could monitor communications in the government district. The Special Collection Service, run jointly by the NSA and CIA, operates surveillance installations worldwide, 'mostly from the cover of embassies and consulates', with its staff accredited as diplomats. A March 2011 document published by the magazine gives it 80 sites worldwide. The Prime Minister confirms U.S. Marines are in Tobago working on 'the runway and a radar': 'They will help us to improve our surveillance and intelligence we gather.' Newsday records that in August the U.S. approached Grenada to house military radar at Maurice Bishop International Airport, and that 22nd MEU Marines held joint exercises with the TT Defence Force the week before. After a U.S. Air Force C-17 landed in Tobago, the Prime Minister first said the Marines were assisting with roadworks at the unopened A.N.R. Robinson International Airport, then acknowledged radar surveillance and intelligence operations. She said the radar is intended solely to monitor Trinidad and Tobago's territory and 'will not be used for any action on Venezuela'. The government says it will allow the U.S. military to access its airports in the coming weeks as tensions build between the United States and Venezuela.
Inspector General · strategy · OBO · 2009–2025
“Not fit for service”: the planning record
'The Embassy's physical facilities are largely shabby and inefficient… Funds for a new embassy are not likely, even in the mid-term' (p. 1). Staffing 'includes 44 direct-hire Americans, roughly 20 long-term, but temporary duty military special operations personnel, and 119 locally employed staff', working from 'four scattered and generally run-down facilities in downtown Port of Spain' (p. 4). The offices of 'the Drug Enforcement Administration, the economics section, and customs and border patrol are not located in the chancery compound' (p. 13). The military liaison office is 'by far the fastest growing element within the Embassy'; Defense Department visitors in country 'can range from a few dozen to 200'; the deputy military liaison leader 'had to remove the arms from his chair to fit into his allotted 35 square feet' (p. 16). Corruption is 'a backdoor to malevolent influences, both state and non-state actors, such as the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Maduro regime, and organized crime' (p. 2). Mission Objective 2.2: 'TT more closely aligns itself with U.S. regional priorities'; the government 'is often at odds with U.S. foreign policy, notably policy differences regarding Venezuela' (p. 12). The embassy 'conducts operations out of four different buildings'; Public Affairs, the DEA and parts of the political-economic section work in rented space (p. 18). 'Previous Office of the Inspector General reports noted that the facilities at Embassy Port of Spain are not fit for service. Each building requires safety and security waivers from the Department to remain in use.' 'Interagency partners interested in establishing a permanent presence at Post must consider whether there is adequate office space for staff.' The main risk is 'a prolonged and extended delay in NEC construction' (p. 19). The Capital Security Construction Program four-year plan places 'Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago — New Embassy Compound' in fiscal 2024. The project slide lists an '11-acre site', 'Anticipated Design/Build RFP: July 2024' and 'Design Architect: Mark Cavagnero Associates'. 'A related classified inspection report includes discussion of the security program, issues affecting the safety of embassy personnel and facilities, and one information management finding' (p. 1). The embassy had 41 authorised U.S. direct-hire positions for the State Department and 12 U.S. direct-hire employees of the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and Justice, with 121 locally employed staff (pp. 1–2). The Information Systems Security Officer did not consistently perform duties for the classified, OpenNet and non-enterprise networks; locally employed system administrators 'had full, unmonitored access to every section's shared files' (p. 11). Wireless networks at the American Center, warehouse, Chief of Mission Residence and Deputy Chief of Mission Residence 'did not meet Bureau of Diplomatic Security standards or were not approved'; an August 2023 Diplomatic Security assessment found similar issues (p. 17).
Contract records · 2024–2026
VAT funding, DD254 and cleared American guards
The award of US$333,892,822 on 27 September 2024 is followed three days later by modification P00001, US$16,149,065: 'ADD FUNDING TO VAT CLIN'. Modifications P00002 (14 October 2024) and P00003 (7 January 2025), both at no cost, read 'INCORPORATE DD254'. Later actions add US$112,124 (July 2025) and US$3,431,662 (May 2026), bringing obligations to US$353,585,673. A completed DD Form 254 'is the principal authorized means for providing security classification guidance and the requirements to the contractor with the associated contract or agreement that requires access to classified information'. Task order to Continuity Global Solutions LLC under IDIQ 19AQMM22D0016: US$3,690,156, performance 1 December 2025 – 30 November 2026, place of performance Trinidad and Tobago, funded by the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, NAICS 561612 (security guards and patrol services). 'Continuity (CGS) has been awarded a Task Order for Construction Security Monitoring Services (CSMS) in Trinidad and Tobago at the construction site for the new U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain.' The programme 'provides for security monitoring services at overseas construction sites and storage areas'. The Cleared American Guards and Construction Surveillance Technicians contract supports construction security monitoring designed 'to surveil the activities of uncleared construction workers to prevent the implantation of clandestine surveillance devices or systems into the structure or its surroundings'.
OSAC · 16 September 2026
Washington's risk assessment of Port of Spain
Assesses Port of Spain as a CRITICAL-threat location for crime, MEDIUM for terrorism and LOW for political violence directed at or affecting official U.S. government interests. It describes the southern border, about 10 miles from the Venezuelan coast, as porous, and says Tren de Aragua, a designated terrorist organisation, 'has been known to exploit this proximity for the transit of personnel and material'. The travel advisory assesses that travellers should reconsider travel because of crime, health and terrorism.
Images
What is official and what is interpretation
The aerial rendering is credited to Mark Cavagnero Associates for OBO. The foundation photograph was published by the U.S. Embassy and has been enhanced to high resolution without changing its content; the two video covers are frames from the videos, enhanced the same way. The silent fly-through is an interpretation built from the same views. All other images of the finished compound are photorealistic interpretations prepared for PearceRobinson.com from the published rendering, and each is captioned as an interpretation, not an official image, wherever it appears.
Extracts are summarised from the document of record, which is linked above. Where a passage is disputed, this newsroom will publish the correction alongside the extract.