PM KPB SAYS PNM UNDERMINING DRUG WAR EFFORTS

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Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar is welcoming the heightened anti-drug initiative by the United States with open arms,  and in turn is pointing and accusing finger at the Opposition PNM for the drugs and guns that have fueled gang violence in this  country.  Juhel Browne Reports on the latest pronouncement from the Prime Minister.

Transcript

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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