00:00Prime Minister Kamlo Passat-Besessa tells TV6 News that, quote,
00:04I, along with most of the country, are happy that the U.S. naval deployment is having success in their mission.
00:11The U.S. government has repeatedly stated that going after the drug cartels was their objective and they have begun to deliver, end quote.
00:20This was the Prime Minister's response to our question about an announcement made by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday
00:26regarding the deployment of U.S. Navy vessels in the waters near Venezuela.
00:31We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.
00:41And you'll be seeing that and you'll be reading about that. It just happened moments ago.
00:46President Trump was speaking on another matter at the White House when he said he had just received an update
00:52from the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Cain.
00:57He gave us a little bit of a briefing, and you'll see. And there's more where that came from.
01:03We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time.
01:08And we just, these came out of Venezuela and coming out very heavily from Venezuela.
01:13A lot of things are coming out of Venezuela. So we took it out, and you'll get to see that after this meeting is over.
01:21U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that, quote,
01:26as POTUS just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike
01:31in the Southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela
01:36and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization, end quote.
01:41Fox News later posted additional comments from Secretary Rubio.
01:45The president is going to be on offense against drug cartels and drug trafficking in the United States.
01:50It destabilized not just the country, but the entire Caribbean basin.
01:54These particular drugs were probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean,
01:58at which point they just contribute to the instability these countries are facing.
02:02So the president's been very clear that he's going to use the full power of America,
02:07the full might of the United States, to take on and eradicate these drug cartels,
02:11no matter where they're operating from and no matter how long they've been able to act with impunity.
02:16Those days are over.
02:17Prime Minister Passat-Bassass told TV6 News, quote,
02:20"...illegally trafficked drugs and arms have caused death and destruction in our society over the last 25 years.
02:28Our country has been ravaged by bloody violence and addiction because of the greed of the cartels.
02:34The slaughter of our people is fueled by evil cartel traffickers.
02:38The pain and suffering the cartels have inflicted on our nation is immense.
02:43I have no sympathy for traffickers.
02:45The U.S. military should kill them all violently," end quote.
02:49The Prime Minister said the restriction of illegal guns, drugs, and human trafficking
02:53will decrease the violence in the region and, in particular, our country.
02:58The U.S. Navy has deployed vessels, including three missile-guided destroyers
03:02and one nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine in the waters near Venezuela,
03:07as part of what the Trump administration says is a war on drug cartels.
03:11Venezuela is one of Trinidad and Tobago's closest South American neighbors,
03:15while the U.S. is Trinidad and Tobago's largest trading partner.
03:19Late last week, Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa had this to say about the deployment of the U.S. Navy vessels in the region,
03:25while she fielded questions from the media at the Diplomatic Center in St. Anne's.
03:30We will continue relationships with all our neighbors, and I welcome again the fight against drug trafficking,
03:38human trafficking, violence crime, so we welcome them.
03:41I am not in aggression against Venezuela.
03:45Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, and his allies within the region have denounced the U.S. Navy deployment
03:50and claimed it is disguised as anti-drug operations and represents a threat to the peace and stability of the region
03:57and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.
04:01Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa told TV6 News, quote,
04:04May God bless and protect the members of the U.S. military who are engaged in the drug interdiction mission.
04:10Their efforts will save many lives in our country and the region, end quote.
04:16Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
04:18Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
Comments