00:00Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Sean Sober, says from November 16th to the 21st,
00:06members of the United States' 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to the U.S. Southern Command
00:11will engage in training exercises with the TNT Defense Force.
00:15He states that it is part of a further strengthening of military ties between both countries
00:20and will better equip the Defense Force to treat with gun-related and gang violence.
00:24As for what the training entails?
00:26Allowing personnel from both countries to become familiar with each other's equipments,
00:32tactics, and techniques, the exercise will challenge the participants,
00:37offering them opportunities to expand their expertise and professional development.
00:42Training will take place across Trinidad and Tobago in both urban and rural environments,
00:48with operations scheduled during dusk and after dark,
00:52and several of these exercises will incorporate the 22nd Military Expedition Unit.
00:59According to the minister, it is different from previous training exercises,
01:03and he calls it capacity and foundation building.
01:06Sober says there has been absolutely no indication by the United States
01:10that the training being provided is linked to any action that the U.S. is taking pertaining to Venezuela.
01:15In December of 2024, the then People's National Movement Administration renewed a status of forces agreement with the United States.
01:23The contents of that document and any changes made to previous SOFA agreements have not been made public.
01:29The United National Congress, when it was in opposition,
01:32did call on the then government to make the agreement public.
01:35Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela were rising at a time.
01:39It is a national security document, which I would not be able to get involved in or share the contents of that information.
01:46Okay, Minister, without going into the details of the SOFA agreement,
01:50can Trinidad and Tobago be used as a launching pad by any other military other than Trinidad and Tobago's military
01:59to launch an attack on any other sovereign country with or without the permission of the government of Trinidad and Tobago?
02:07No, in short, the answer to that is no.
02:10A discussion in the local and regional domain for a number of years is that of guns entering the region from America.
02:18Soba says, based on statistics in the hands of the government, guns come through legal and illegal ports of entry.
02:24He adds that those coming through legal ports, some of which are illegally obtained,
02:29tend to come from the U.S. and other territories.
02:31TV6 News sought answers from the minister on where talks are at this time with this country and the U.S.
02:38pertaining to their guns infiltrating TNT and by extension the region in light of their quote-unquote war on drug cartels.
02:45But in terms of the mass amount of illegal firearms that come into Trinidad, they come through illegal ports of entry.
02:54The ammunitions as well, too.
02:56The varying amounts of ammunitions from 0.22 to 9mm to 5.56 to 7.62 grade ammunition to 0.45 ammunition,
03:08which is not supposed to be utilized really, they do come from illegal ports of entry.
03:15And with the greatest respect to all our colleagues that live in South America, that is where those arms and ammunitions come from.
03:23Soba's reiterates sentiments echoed by the government that the U.S. presence in the region is resulting in a reduction in violence
03:31related to drugs and guns, which he says is welcome.
03:34I can't recall the last time that I've heard or seen somebody spraying down a car or going into a neighborhood
03:43and doing a drive-by shooting and killing six people at the same time
03:48or going on a football field where children are playing and killing people indiscriminately
03:53with these weapons that could shoot out 30-something rounds in less than 30 seconds or something like that.
04:01These things are not occurring anymore.
04:03With a 50 million U.S. dollar bounty placed on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
04:08and the U.S. weapons of war which continue to be deployed to the region,
04:12one school of thought is that the U.S. is pushing for regime change in Venezuela.
04:17Asked whether he would support or stand against any war that stems from this,
04:21Minister Soba's refers to it as conjecture.
04:24If it happens, trust that your government will stand with you
04:29and we will make the best possible decision in the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
04:37Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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