Trinidad Gov’t ‘strongly supports’ U.S. military presence in Caribbean

[Sunday Express] – Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs has broken its silence on the US military presence and lethal boat-strikes in the Caribbean, signaling Government’s support for the action which is believed to have killed at least two Trinidadian fishermen.

In a release on Sunday, the Ministry said it wished to categorically express its support for the US’ military intervention in the region. By Sunday evening, the known number of deaths as a result of seven US strikes had reached 32.

The Ministry said the US operations were aimed at combatting narco and human trafficking and transnational crime which it says would make the region a ‘true zone of peace’- a term which Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar claimed was a false ideal when speaking at the UN General Assembly last month.

The Government, the Ministry said, affirms that these operations were not meant to target law abiding citizens, fisherfolk and other seafaring individuals seeking to earn an honest living.

“Alternatively, all persons who may seek to engage in, or indirectly support, any illegal activities in the Region, are warned that should they be so inclined, they do so at their own peril.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its commitment to the people of the Caribbean for the creation of a safer, stronger and more prosperous Region,” the statement read.

The Government’s response follows claims by relatives that two Trinidadian fishermen from Las Cuevas were killed in the fifth US boat strike last week which killed six in total.

Relatives of 26-year-old Las Cuevas fisherman Chad ‘Charpo’ Joseph told the Express that they suspect he may have been one of two Trinidadians killed in one such strike.

His relatives, alongside international human rights groups and critics within the US, have since questioned the strikes. ”Donald Trump (is) just destroying families, boy. He just destroyed families for no good reason,”Joseph’s cousin, Aficia Clement, told the Express on Thursday.

The Prime Minister had previously welcomed the boat strikes, stating that US forces should kill all drug traffickers “violently”- a statement she did not renounce even as relatives criticised the strikes.

On Saturday, the Caricom issued a statement which claimed heads of government called for the Caribbean to remain a zone of peace- with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago, which reserved its position.