Founding member of the People's National Movement, Ferdie Ferreira, says American claims that war ships have been sent to the region because of an influx of drugs to the U.S. are “ludicrous and highly questionable”.
According to the Trump Administration, the U.S. has sent warships in the southern Caribbean near to Venezuela “to combat drug cartels”.
Ferreira’s comments come a day after the U.S. reportedly killed eleven people in what was described as a “kinetic strike”, carried out in international waters against alleged drug smugglers.
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that “narco-terrorists” were killed in the attack.
Ferreira told Guardian Media that the war ships are not meant to target drug cartels.
“You didn’t send seven battleships for the greatest drug dealer in the world, Pablo Escobar,” he said. “But you send seven battleships to the Caribbean under the pretext that you’re coming for drug dealers. Do you need seven battleships to intercept a vessel with 11 people that you assume are drug dealers?”
“This has to be nothing short of irrevocable stupidity,” he asserts.
And the political activist maintains that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is acting outside the perimeters of Caricom policy, as it concerns U.S. involvement in the affairs of Venezuela.'
Ferriera says the Prime Minister’s commitment to providing the United States access to Trinidad and Tobago if the U.S. requests it, goes against this country’s history of diplomacy and foreign policy.
The political activist asserts that Trinidad and Tobago’s position has always been one of neutrality, and he firmly believes that it should remain so.
“Dr Williams took a position on behalf of the Government of Trinidad when he was having a conflict with the Venezuelans … during the colonial days,” Ferreira recounted, “he made it clear to the Venezuelans that whatever differences we have—it is documented—Trinidad soil will never be used for any attempt by any foreign power to invade Venezuela. That has been our policy.”
“Unfortunately, for whatever reason the Prime Minister has made, what I consider to be, a highly questionable commitment,” he said, “in terms of offering the American government without a request—they’ve made no request of us—she has offered … that if Venezuela attacks Guyana, Trinidad will be a base for the U.S."
He says when there was the political crisis in Grenada in 1983 between Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, T&T’s then Prime Minister George Chambers refused to support the U.S. military invasion of that country in October of that year, arguing that it should have been dealt with by Caricom.
He also points out that during T&T’s own tense moments in its democratic history—with the Black Power Revolution in 1970, and the attempted coup by the Jamaat al-Muslimeen in 1990—this country chose not to seek the intervention of a foreign power.
Ferdie Ferreira was a guest on today’s edition of CNC3’s The Morning Brew show.
