- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 03/Sep 15:55

Beckles: PM’s ‘kill traffickers’ statement reckless

OPPOSITION Leader Pennelope Beckles has called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to retract her "kill all traffickers" statement, made in response to a US naval strike on a Venezuelan drug boat on September 2. In a statement on September 2, Beckles said, "The Opposition is clear. We support strong and decisive action against drug trafficking, but it must be lawful, co-ordinated, and respectful of our national values and international obligations." Beckles, who is also PNM political leader and a former Trinidad and Tobago ambassador to the UN, added, "We therefore call on the Prime Minister to immediately retract her reckless statement, to appear before the media, and to provide the public with proper answers." TT holds responsibility for national security in Caricom's quasi-cabinet. Persad-Bissessar has publicly expressed support for the US naval deployment in the southern Caribbean outside of Venezuela's territorial waters, said she will accept any help to deal with drug cartels, has said TT will not engage Caricom on the US deployment and is prepared to allow the US military to use TT territory if it needs to prevent a Venezuelan incursion into Guyana. On September 2, Persad-Bissessar applauded a US military strike on a Venezuelan drug boat in which 11 people, allegedly drug traffickers, were killed. She said the US military should "kill them all, violently." The "lethal strike" was announced by US President Donald Trump. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the drugs were most likely heading to Trinidad, and or other Caribbean countries. [caption id="attachment_1175775" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. - File photo by Faith Ayoung[/caption] Beckles said, "We again remind the Prime Minister of her responsibilities as the assigned Caricom lead on regional security, and we are troubled that none of her commentary since the most recent deployment of foreign troops reflects any commitment to fulfil TT’s co-ordination obligations in such regard." On September 1, Persad-Bissessar dismissed statements from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that the US deployment is a prelude to a US military offensive against Venezuela. Persad-Bissessar has supported the Trump administration's position the deployment is a counter-narcotic operation. Among the vessels being deployed to the southern Caribbean are guided missile cruisers and the USS Newport News, a fast-attack nuclear-powered submarine carrying Tomahawk missiles, will soon join them. Tomahawk missiles are used for precision, long-range land attack warfare against heavily defended fixed targets such as command centers, air defense sites, and other critical infrastructure. The amphibious assault ships USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale, and landing helicopter dock USS Iwo Jima are set to join these vessels. The vessels assembling in the southern Caribbean have approximately 4,500 personnel on board. Half of them are members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), an elite special force unit within the US Marine Corps. The MEU is a forward-deployed, crisis-response force for US national interests worldwide. Those missions include combat, anti-terrorism, and humanitarian relief operations. The MEU's last action in the Caribbean was as part of Operation Urgent Fury during the US military invasion of Grenada in 1983 after then prime minister Maurice Bishop was executed in a coup. That operation also reportedly involved units from the US Army's elite Delta Force and the US Navy SEALS. TT did not support Operation Urgent Fury. Beckles warned that Persad-Bissessar's "inflammatory social media output draws our country into unnecessary conflict over which we have little to no control and can put our legitimate fisherfolks, offshore workers, and other workers in the maritime space at increased risk." She also warned "it disregards the potential for heightened tensions between Venezuela and the US, which can be best reduced through prudent and diplomatic engagement."   The post Beckles: PM’s ‘kill traffickers’ statement reckless appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.