00:00As the U.S. has amplified its military build-up in the Caribbean, and what it says is its war and drug cartels,
00:08Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissessa continues to give her administration's full support to the Americans.
00:15In a statement on Friday, Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa said, quote,
00:19We need all the help we can get to protect our people.
00:23Trinidad and Tobago must always come first.
00:25My government will continue to work with our international partners to strengthen our institutions and safeguard our nation, end quote.
00:36The Prime Minister has extended the government's welcome to the United States Navy and Marine Corps,
00:41which will be arriving in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for joint military training with the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force.
00:49But then, the Prime Minister also had a lot to say about the opposition, PNM.
00:54In the statement on Friday, Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa said, quote,
00:58Unfortunately, the opposition PNM and their agents are persistent in creating unnecessary hysteria
01:05and conspiracy theories in a desperate attempt to create instability and chaos, end quote.
01:12The Prime Minister further said, quote,
01:14The Prime Minister confirmed that the USS Gravely will visit Trinidad and Tobago from October 26th to 30th,
01:38mooring in Port of Spain, while the 22nd U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit will conduct joint training exercises
01:45with the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force during the same period.
01:50The Prime Minister said this visit augurs well for our nation and added that, for far too long,
01:56Trinidad and Tobago's open and poorly secured borders have facilitated the trafficking of humans, drugs, and firearms.
02:03The Prime Minister declared tens of thousands of illegal migrants have entered our country
02:09and over 10,000 citizens have been brutally murdered in the last two decades.
02:15Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa, who chairs the National Security Council, continued, quote,
02:21Most disheartening is that the historically PNM-controlled constituencies are the ones most affected by drugs
02:29and bloody gang violence fueled by the actions of the drug cartels, end quote.
02:35The Prime Minister further said, quote,
02:37Yet the PNM and their agents choose to put the interests of their drug mafia financiers in front of their own constituents, end quote.
02:47The Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa recalled that in December 2024,
02:53the former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. Department of Defense renewed
02:57and amended a Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
03:03The Prime Minister said this agreement facilitates interoperability between the two countries armed forces,
03:11the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Technical Assistance Field Team,
03:15and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement.
03:19Prime Minister Passat-Bissessa noted that the United States and Trinidad and Tobago have had a SOFA in place since 2007,
03:27which was renewed in 2013 and again in December 2024.
03:33Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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