00:00Less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Kamala Pasad-Basasa promised to ramp up the Coast Guard's presence in Cedrus,
00:09political leader of the Patriotic Front, Makayla Pandey, is claiming that there is only one Coast Guard vessel presently patrolling the seas,
00:17while another small pierogh remains docked.
00:21In the background, a male voice can be heard explaining the Coast Guard's predicament.
00:30Pandey then referenced the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela,
00:35as she noted Trinidad's proximity to the South American country.
00:40You look really hard. You can see what you call the bull nose, which is the end of Venezuela.
00:46It's very, very close to where we are in Cedrus.
00:49So we really need to come up with a plan.
00:52The government needs to come up with a plan of what they're going to do,
00:55because people here are sitting ducks and it's really important to know that tensions are escalating
01:03and people can know the voice of what could happen and how they could be protected were anything to happen.
01:11The government has indicated that it plans to report roughly 200 Venezuelan nationals in due course.
01:18Contacted for comment, Defense Minister Wayne Sturge said he would not respond to misleading social media posts,
01:27adding that for national security reasons, he is unable to share any information regarding the coordinates,
01:34deployment or operations of TNT's naval assets.
01:37However, he says the country can rest assured that, quote,
01:41unlike what obtained in the last nine years, all borders are being properly secured, end quote.
01:48As it pertains to the pending deportation, Sturge says the decision was taken following an assessment of the offences
01:55for which the illegal immigrants are charged, as well as other pertinent factors.
02:01He's giving the assurance that illegal immigrants who enter with children will be processed in accordance with existing laws
02:08and with due regard to and observance of all international obligations.
02:14Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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