Days after she downplayed the United States military presence in Tobago, later disclosing the installation of what is believed to be a US battle-grade air defence radar being installed at the ANR Robinson International Airport, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar alleged that crime in the country is being driven by “sanction-busting Venezuelan criminals”.
The prime minister took to her official X account this evening, calling for answers from the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), while claiming that the new radar system was intended to assist with the detection of Venezuelan crude oil “sanction-busting” activities and traffickers who she says been conducting “deliveries of narcotics, firearms, ammunition and migrants from Venezuela”.
The prime minister claimed that the country’s high violent crime rates were driven by the activities of this purported group and Venezuelan criminal collaborators.
She also claimed that the new system enhances the country’s surveillance capabilities and adds a superior layer of protection that she said was previously unavailable.
The prime minister’s statement comes at a time when tensions within the region continue to simmer and amid a US military build-up of 15 000 troops, multiple warships, and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in the Caribbean Sea.
It also comes as US President Donald Trump mounts pressure on neighbouring Venezuela. Last week the US government named an alleged Venezuelan drug group, Cartel de los Soles, as a designated narco-terrorist group and President Nicolas Maduro as its leader.
The US has since September conducted at least 21 boat strikes in the region, killing 82 alleged ‘narco-terrorists’, some of whom the US claims were associated with Venezuelan drug groups. Persad-Bissessar previously praised these strikes, calling for all drug traffickers to be killed violently. She has since denied that the country would be used as any launching pad for an attack against Venezuela.
But over the course of the US’ build-up at least three official US military visits have occurred, including the USS Gravely’s visit, joint exercises with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and the visit of top military official General Dan Caine.
Last week, amid a flurry of US military flights to Tobago, a system believed to be an AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, a long-range, high-performance pulse doppler radar that can provide 360-degree air surveillance, air defence and counterfire (neutralising enemy weapons) target acquisition was spotted on the island.
The prime minister first admitted that US marines were there to help build a roadway. The next day, she admitted that the installation of a radar was ongoing. She has since claimed that she requested its installation from the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago.
Persad-Bissessar posted a statement that posed a series of questions to the opposition party, alleging that the former administration had allowed the “local drug mafia” to operate “freely”.
She claimed, “They turned a blind eye to illegal drugs, arms and human trafficking, as well as to allegations of rampant paedophilia within the hierarchy of their party. They did nothing tangible to improve national security while thousands of women were raped or sexually assaulted, over 5 000 people were murdered, and thousands more were victims of violent robberies.”
“The horrendous murder and violent crime rates for the past decade have been mainly driven by the criminal activities of the local drug mafia and sanction-busting Venezuelan criminal collaborators. The PNM’s hierarchy seems unable to extricate its party from the clutches of both criminal groups.”
She called questions raised by the opposition on the radar a “desperate effort” to force the government to disclose sensitive information, further claiming that this would serve long suspected mafia financiers.
She called on the opposition to hold a press conference and explain why an existing radar system operated under the PNM government for years did not detect oil tankers engaged in the ship-to-ship transfer of sanctioned Venezuelan oil within Trinidadian waters. She said that documents had been obtained which states that Trinidad was the point of origin for such oil.
She asked how long a previous radar system had been “compromised”, and asked for the party to make public the names of businesses associated with the alleged “local drug mafia”.
“Explain to the country whether the PNM’s anti-American narrative to remove the American-supplied radar system is really due to pressure or blackmail from the local drug mafia and the previous PNM government’s crude oil sanction-busting Venezuelan collaborators.”
“The government will continue efforts to protect the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, and we welcome the support of our international allies. This ongoing commitment should inspire confidence and collective responsibility among citizens and stakeholders,” she wrote.
Earlier today Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles hosted a press conference, in which she asked questions of the government on the radar. (Express)
