Tanki Maraka: the US Radar Base 50 Miles from Venezuela

Just as today, the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao had oil refining infrastructure back in World Wa rTwo. After some German naval action in the Caribbean early in the war, the Dutch government invited US forces to move onto the islands as security. This became part of US Caribbean Command, and from 1942 until 1947 the US had, among other things, a radar installation on Bonaire at Tanki Maraka. I had a chance to visit a few years ago while scuba diving on the island as part of what is now my second channel (@DeepDiveWithIan). With the US threatening war with Venezuela now, it seems rather topical, so I figured I’d do something with the video…

If you are on Bonaire, it’s an interesting site to see – you can find more information here:
https://infobonaire.com/about-bonaire/history/bonaire-museums/tanki-maraka-heritage-park/