00:00As tensions continue to mount between the United States and Venezuela with reports of additional airstrikes on vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking,
00:09social activists locally are calling for calm, insisting that the Caribbean must remain a zone of peace.
00:16Zaki Awada, chairperson of the Emancipation Support Committee, led a silent protest outside of the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain.
00:23She and other demonstrators voiced concerns over what they described as a U.S. aggression in the region.
00:28We, the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, must stand in unity, regardless of political or any other affiliation,
00:39and raise our voices against this U.S. aggression.
00:44War in our region will negatively affect us for years, all of us for years.
00:49Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, situated a mere 10 miles away from Venezuela, will definitely be caught in the crossfire.
00:59We must all stand in defense of our countries, our present and future generations.
01:06The protest comes amid growing concern that two Trinidadian men were among six killed in a recent U.S. strike on a vessel alleged to be carrying drugs from Venezuela.
01:15Since when is arbitrarily blowing up ships and killing people the way to fight crime or drug trafficking in the Caribbean?
01:25And why would anyone consider this to be acceptable and promote and encourage it?
01:31Let us be clear, the United States has no interest in the well-being of any country other than its own
01:39and may be prepared to secure its hegemony by any means necessary.
01:45Reports suggest that at least seven boats allegedly transporting drugs have been bombed, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 people without due process.
01:55Social activist Abiyo Jackson accused the government of remaining too silent, suggesting its alignment with Washington's policies compromises national sovereignty.
02:04The sale of sovereignty dressed as diplomacy.
02:09What we are witnessing, the invasion of our Caribbean waters, the killing of 32 men on alleged drug boats without due process or evidence, is not justice.
02:17It is murder.
02:19It is imperial violence dressed up once again in the rhetoric dog whistle of security and war on drugs.
02:25Jackson also argued that the conflict is rooted in power and resource control rather than narcotics.
02:31It is about oil.
02:33It is about power.
02:34The United States, abetted by local collaborators, has long used narratives to justify control over territories rich in natural resources and geostrategic access.
02:45Our region has been a pawn in the empire building for centuries.
02:49With the apparent complicity now of our own leadership, the cycle continues.
02:54Protester Shani Lewis issued an emotional plea to young people to act before it's too late.
03:00Do you think the people who treat our lives like numbers on a spreadsheet, who treat our lives like chess pieces on a board, do you think they are going to stay here?
03:14When war comes to our footsteps, they have all the resources in the world.
03:21You are going to be the one to catch.
03:22So I say to see you, with my heart racing, my blood pumping, and literal nightmares in my dreams, I am begging you, we have to do something.
03:36Also joining the demonstration were movement for social justice leader David Abdullah and former Emancipation Support Committee Chair, Krafa Kambon, reinforcing the call for dialogue and diplomacy over aggression.
03:49Their message, loud and clear, the Caribbean must not become a battleground for global power struggles.
03:56Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
03:58Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
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