The Prime Minister says she is QUOTE "not in aggression against Venezuela" as she welcomes the U.S deployment of navy vessels in the international waters near Venezuela as part of what the U.S says is the fight against drug trafficking.
And that's not all the Prime Minister had to say on the matter today.
00:00We will continue relationships with all our neighbors, and I welcome again the fight against drug trafficking, human trafficking, drugs, crime. So we welcome them. I am not in aggression against Venezuela.
00:14Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Besessa responded to questions from the media at the Diplomatic Center on Friday regarding the deployment of U.S. Navy vessels in the waters near Venezuela. During a meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump's cabinet on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified Trinidad and Tobago as being part of an international coalition against organized drug cartels.
00:39Trinidad and Tobago, apart from World War II, we have never been engaged in any war. So I cannot assess what they want to do or not do. They will be not on our soil. They will be in international waters. I want to make that very clear.
00:53TV6 News posed the question to Prime Minister Passat-Besessa about the latest developments in the context of Trinidad and Tobago's diplomatic and trade relations.
01:02Prime Minister, as a country of this size, Trinidad and Tobago, it's always a balancing act, I would think, between powers like the U.S., you have China that I think has given support for Venezuela, for example. How do you and your administration manage that balancing act at this particular time?
01:19We balanced it. We balanced well so far. We have not had any war zones with Venezuela. But it's not just for a country like us. It's all over the world with the new geopolitical architecture that is forming.
01:33We all have to balance and we all have to rethink things that might have happened in the past. We have to rethink, to chart our way through some very, very difficult geopolitical times.
01:42The Prime Minister said she thinks Trinidad and Tobago thus far has balanced well as she responded to claims made by Venezuela and Cuba about the U.S. Navy deployment in the region.
01:53We have no evidence of the allegations being made. And further, we have no discussions of the U.S. actually deploying on Trinidad and Tobago soil.
02:02If they know otherwise, or they say there's more shared evidence, because at the moment it's just rhetoric. It's just rhetoric that what Cuba is saying, what Venezuela is saying, give us evidence. We will consider it.
02:15Writers reported that a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that seven U.S. warships, including one nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, were either in the region or were expected to be there in the coming week.
02:29I'm very clear. We have had no agreement for any military attack. If there are any such plans, we are not part of any of those discussions. And would you ask me again, if they'll be using any of our bases?
02:43Not to my knowledge and not the minister's knowledge. There is no such agreement. What I had said, I maintain it. Should Venezuela move against Guyana, it is then that we will offer any space here to protect our Caricum neighbor, brother and sister.
02:58The Prime Minister was asked if Guyana's president has welcomed her support.
03:03President Ali, openly I saw him on the media saying yes. So that's out there.
03:11The Venezuelan ambassador?
03:12Guyana has an election on Monday, please understand. Jamaica is the chair of Caricum, has an election on a few days' time. I think that's part of what's happening.
03:21But there was a meeting of Caricum foreign ministers. There was a casual meeting. It was an unofficial meeting. There were discussions. And I think we may have to await these two elections for a more cohesive response based on who's the Caricum chair.
03:40Prime Minister Posadu Sessa spoke with the media following a meeting between a delegation she led and a delegation led by Grenada's Prime Minister Decon Mitchell, which focused on energy cooperation.
Be the first to comment