- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 11/Sep 20:39

IR expert: PM must tread carefully with Latin American neighbours

INTERNATIONAL Relations expert Dr Anthony Gonzales is urging Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to proceed with caution and avoid damaging Trinidad and Tobago’s diplomatic relations with its Latin American neighbours. Gonzales took issue with Persad-Bissessar’s response to Colombian president Gustavo Petro, who had called for a search for the bodies of 11 members of the Venezuelan-based criminal organisation, Tren de Aragua (TDA). The men were reportedly killed in a US air strike in the Southern Caribbean. Petro has insisted the bombing occurred in TT’s territorial waters, making it necessary for Persad-Bissessar to order a search to determine whether the vessel was civilian or, as the US has claimed, a drug-running operation. Persad-Bissessar, who has publicly backed the US strike against drug traffickers, dismissed Petro’s call, describing it as a waste of TT’s Coast Guard resources. She said the state would only respond if bodies washed ashore, as happened on September 5 and 7 on the north coast, when two bodies were found. Persad-Bissessar maintained her stance that, “The drugs on that boat brings death to persons here, destroys families and careers and fractures our society. Those drugs bring more death and despair than conventional weapons. We are in a war against drugs and trafficking. “There will be consequences. I much prefer seeing drug and gun traffickers blown to pieces than seeing hundreds of our citizens murdered each year because of drug fuelled gang violence.” In an interview with Newsday on September 10, Gonzales said the tone of the Prime Minister’s remarks was unbecoming of a head of government addressing another head of state. While there is support for US intervention, he warned it should not come at the cost of straining ties with regional partners, especially with uncertainty over the next move by US President Donald Trump. Gonzales stressed the importance of confirming whether the strike actually occurred within TT waters. “On humanitarian grounds alone, we should offer to search for those bodies according to Maritime law. We are committed to international laws to do that. “I have some problems with the language used by the PM. I don't think she should have replied to the Colombian president in that way.” Gonzales suggested a more cordial response could have expressed willingness to assist while awaiting clarity on the strike’s exact location. On the possible fallout, he said, “That it is obviously not going to improve relations. It may be a bit strained but at least we still have diplomatic relations and we are still talking.” Venezuelan Ambassador to TT, Alvaro Sanchez Cordero, has maintained that the presence of US military assets in the Caribbean and TT’s support for them has not affected bilateral ties. But Gonzales said he believed relations with both Venezuela and Colombia were being impacted. He urged Persad-Bissessar to adopt a more neutral stance, in line with most Caricom states, except Guyana which has its own border dispute with Venezuela. "We are not against military intervention, and although some might share the opinion that Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is a dictator who has rigged election, we have to deal with that. We are a small country next to his and we ought to have some kind of working relationship with him. “It is in our best interest to remain neutral, although neutrality does not mean you cannot have some kind of alignment with the US.” US congressman seeks legal justification for strike Meanwhile, calls for accountability over the strike are also coming from the United States. According to a CANA report, Congressman Gregory W Meeks has demanded the Trump administration provide the legal justification for the attack. “I am deeply concerned by the Trump administration’s shifting narratives, contradictory facts, and utter failure to provide a legal justification for this strike,” said Meeks, who represents New York’s 5th Congressional District in Queens. The ranking member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee described it as “unacceptable” that members of the committee had yet to be briefed on the operation. “We are a nation of laws, not of one man’s whims,” Meeks said. “Donald Trump does not have the authority to order strikes in international waters. Only congress has the constitutional power to declare war or authorise military force. The administration must make its legal justification for these strikes clear, because this strike appears unlawful under both US and international law.” [caption id="attachment_1177527" align="alignnone" width="158"] Gregory W Meeks. -[/caption] Meeks also called for intelligence to support the claim of an immediate threat to the US that warranted the extrajudicial killing of 11 individuals. “Unjustified unilateral actions like this emulate the behaviour of authoritarian leaders, such as Maduro (the Venezuelan leader), rather than counter them,” he said. “The Trump administration’s credibility is already in tatters, from deporting people to foreign gulags based on false claims and cherry-picking intelligence that suits its political agenda, to now contradicting itself about where the boat was heading when it was struck. The American people deserve the truth. “With both the United States and Venezuela taking further escalatory steps, it is time for congress to reassert its congressional authority over matters of war and peace. “The Trump administration should not be allowed to unilaterally drag us into a war that we have not authorised.” The report also noted Persad-Bissessar’s endorsement of the strike and her declaration that she had “no sympathy for traffickers” and that the US military should “kill them all violently.”   The post IR expert: PM must tread carefully with Latin American neighbours appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.