Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling out all who are against the drug-interdiction efforts for their quote "anti-American narrative". Rynessa Cutting has more.
00:00Prime Minister Kamla Pasar-Basasa says Tobago's air and sea territory are the most secure they have ever been,
00:07and the people of Tobago are the safest they have ever been.
00:11She says she is committed to ensuring that the people of Tobago will never have a bloody year like 2024.
00:19Last year, Tobago recorded 26 murders, and 9 murders have already been recorded on the island for 2025.
00:27Prime Minister Kamla Pasar-Basasa took to X today to reiterate that she had requested the radar from the U.S. government
00:35and that it was a temporary measure until the country has installed a proper working system.
00:42She then slammed those who did not agree with the move and is further advising citizens to look at the persons, politicians, groups, businesses,
00:51and even media that are, quote, actively against the drug interdiction efforts.
00:57As she says, many persons who are profiting from drug trafficking are the ones fueling the, quote, anti-American narrative.
01:06She goes further to associate the opposition PNM with drug trafficking and pedophilia,
01:11claiming that it is not surprising that as a result, they will be against the government's anti-drug and anti-human trafficking efforts.
01:20Her comments come following backlash against the insulation of the U.S. military radar in Tobago,
01:26which the Tobago House of Assembly has confirmed that it was not consulted or notified about.
01:33However, concern heightened further over the weekend after U.S. President Donald Trump took to X to advise that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela
01:43should be considered to be closed in its entirety.
01:47This was his response when questioned about the announcement by U.S. reporters on Sunday.
01:52Does your warning mean that an airstrike is imminent or should we not read it that way?
01:57Don't read anything into it.
01:59The New York Times reported that you had a phone call with Maduro. Did you?
02:03I don't want to comment on it. The answer is yes.
02:05And can you tell us a little bit about it?
02:06No, I can't do that. I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call.
02:12President Trump labeled Venezuela, quote, not a very friendly country, end quote.
02:18As we consider Venezuela to be not a very friendly country, they sent millions of people really and probably a number in excess of that.
02:26And a lot of those people shouldn't be in our country from jails, from gangs, from drug dealers, from all of the people that came into our country shouldn't have been in our country, causing a lot of problems.
02:38Back at home, the TTPS reports that a coordinated operation was conducted at the corner of Rapsi Street and Knoll Street in Kurep last night into the wee hours of this morning, resulting in the detention of illegal immigrants and the seizure of a quantity of ammunition.
02:56According to a TTPS release, the operation led to the detention of 28 illegal immigrants, 22 males and 6 females, while a surge of the surrounding area led to the discovery.
03:08Of 100 rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a blue plastic crate, 14 individuals were served detention orders, while the remainder being held pending instructions from immigration authorities.
03:22The female detainees remain in custody at the St. Joseph police station.
03:27No arrests were made in connection with the ammunition, and investigations are ongoing.
03:32Amateur video on social media shows dozens of reported Venezuelan immigrants being rounded up by police.
03:40Social media users report that the immigrants had gathered at the recreation ground on Knoll Street for a tournament and a family day.
03:48The Prime Minister has sworn to take aggressive action against all illegal Venezuelan migrants,
03:53and deport every one of them to their homeland by any means necessary.
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