Only persons to worry about US military activity in region are those engaged in or enabling criminal activity – T&T PM

– supports US activities, pledges staunch support for Guyana in any Venezuelan act of aggression

In a social media post late Saturday, Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar, stated that the US Government’s deployment of American military assets into the Caribbean region to destroy the terrorist drug cartels has the full support of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
The only persons who should be worried about the activity of the US military, she noted, are those engaged in or enabling criminal activity. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear.
The Trinidad and Tobago government has not engaged and has no intention of engaging CARICOM on this matter; each member state can speak for themselves on this issue, the statement read, adding that
No requests have ever been made by the American Government for their military assets to access Trinidadian territory for any military action against the Venezuelan regime, the statement read:
“Trinidad and Tobago has always had good relations with the Venezuelan people and that will continue,” she stressed, “however, I want to make it very clear that if the Maduro regime launches any attack against the Guyanese people or invades Guyanese territory and a request is made by the American Government for access to Trinidadian territory to defend the people of Guyana, my government will unflinchingly provide them that access.”
Turning to the region, the PM pointed out that the US Government’s “deployment of American military assets into the Caribbean region to destroy the terrorist drug cartels has the full support of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Due to drug, human and firearms trafficking, Caribbean countries, and in particular Trinidad and Tobago have experienced massive spikes in transnational crime, gang activity, murders, violence and financial crimes.
Most Caribbean countries and in particular Trinidad and Tobago have been dealing with out-of-control crime for the last twenty years. Small island states like ours simply do not have the financial and military resources to take on the drug cartels.
Cartels have been enabled to embed themselves into the high echelons of Caribbean societies, thereby exhibiting significant influence in political, legislative, media, banking, security and economic decisions, often rendering governments toothless to enact actual change to stop criminal activity.
Record murder rates, gang activity, drug addictions, violent crime and increasing poverty throughout the Caribbean and especially in our country certainly do not paint a peaceful existence. Therefore, it is shocking to hear some persons using referrals to the Caribbean region as a zone of peace to push negative commentary on the US military deployment against these terrorist cartels.”
“The only persons who should be worried about the activity of the US military are those engaged in or enabling criminal activity. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear. Despite the misinformation being peddled, the US military is operating legally in international waters within the region and have not breached any nations sovereignty,” she outlined.
“The Trinidad and Tobago government has not engaged and has no intention of engaging CARICOM on this matter; each member state can speak for themselves on this issue. Trinidad and Tobago has been helplessly drowning in blood and violence for the last twenty years; Vice President Vance spoke the truth when he mentioned our high murder and crime rates. Therefore, no amount of Trump derangement syndrome tantrums and anti-American propaganda will prevent my government from welcoming assistance to combat the terrorist drug cartels.
Other CARICOM countries are free to make their decisions based on the best interests of their citizens.”