Former Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is asking about the security of this country's offshore platforms if there is a showdown at sea between the US and Venezuela.
00:00The government of Trinidad and Tobago has a lot of questions to answer to the people of Trinidad and Tobago because we are at risk.
00:10We are at grave risk.
00:13Former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley expressing his concerns on Monday.
00:17As Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Besessa said on the social media platform X on Sunday,
00:21that the government proudly welcomes the United States Marine Corps 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to Trinidad and Tobago,
00:28which will be in joint training exercises with the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force from Sunday through Friday.
00:35Look in today's papers.
00:37You see the complaint from Venezuela accusing Trinidad and Tobago of facilitating an attack on its territory.
00:43And today, I call on the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago to come before the country.
00:52Tell us what you have done.
00:54Tell us what you have agreed to.
00:56Tell us why you have abandoned what has worked.
00:59And tell us what protection you have in place for the people of Trinidad and Tobago in the event that there is physical confrontation between Venezuela and the United States.
01:11Dr. Rowley made reference to the issue of the drag and gas in Venezuela's waters.
01:15Well, some people believe that it leads us to get gas from Venezuela if there's a new government in Venezuela.
01:23And if that government is controlled by the Americans, we'll then get all of our OFAC license and we'll get access to the gas field and so on and so on.
01:31That might be so.
01:32Dr. Rowley also made reference to the U.S. carrier strike group having joined the large presence of the U.S. military in the Caribbean,
01:50which the U.S. government says is about its war on drug cartels, which has the full support of the government led by Prime Minister Passat-Bassassar.
01:59War nowadays is fought when you send 500 drones at a target.
02:07And I see Europe, civilian targets are fair game.
02:11That's our world today.
02:14We are dependent on gas from platforms 60 miles out there.
02:21We don't have a Navy that could protect us.
02:24We don't have a Coast Guard that could even stand out there to be present, to hail anybody who's coming at us.
02:35The former Prime Minister said that is a vulnerability of the worst kind.
02:41Because if a threat like that comes to us, a credible threat, that those platforms are in fact legitimate targets,
02:49those international companies will do one thing.
02:56They will remove their staff from the platform.
03:00And once the staff comes off the platform, most of those platforms are manned.
03:03Once they come off the platform, it shuts down the gas supply to Trinidad and Tobago.
03:08And that shuts down Point Lisas.
03:12It shuts down the Atlantic LNG plant.
03:15And it shuts down every factory in Trinidad and Tobago.
03:19Because it would have shut down Tiantic.
03:21Dr. Rowley then warned what impact such a scenario could have on the local economy.
03:27Once they come off the platform, it shuts down the gas supply to Trinidad and Tobago.
03:32And that shuts down Point Lisas.
03:36It shuts down the Atlantic LNG plant.
03:39And it shuts down every factory in Trinidad and Tobago.
03:43Because it would have shut down Tiantic.
03:45And this bulb will not light.
03:49Because we are so vulnerable.
03:53What the hell are we doing?
03:54In response to Dr. Rowley on Monday, Prime Minister Passat-Besessa said on the social media platform X
04:00that Trinidad and Tobago citizens and infrastructure are not at risk
04:05and that they are not participants in any aggression against the people of Venezuela.
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