KAMLA PRAISES US LETHAL STRIKE ON DRUG BOAT

CCNTV6

The Prime Minister has offered praise on behalf of this country for what the U.S. is calling a "lethal strike" by its military in the region on a vessel the U.S says was carrying drugs from Venezuela.  Following an announcement by the U.S President, the U.S. Secretary of State said the drugs could have been on their way to this country.  Juhel Browne reports.

Transcript

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.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended