Gary Aboud claims US visa cancelled over criticism of missile strikes

FFOS corporate secretary Gary Aboud. - File photo

FISHERMEN & Friends of the Sea (FFOS) corporate secretary Gary Aboud has claimed his US visa was revoked over his criticism of the US' missile strikes in the Caribbean over the past two and a half months.

Over 80 people have been killed by the US in its war against drug traffickers in the Southern Caribbean and Pacific.

The US has targeted alleged drug trafficking vessels, including a submarine, with over 20 lethal missile strikes since September 2.

Among the deceased are suspected to be two Trinis, Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo.

The US has not provided any evidence that the vessels were carrying narcotics, but officials insist that their intelligence is sound.

Two bodies, suspected to be killed in one of the bombings, washed ashore on TT's north-eastern coast in September.

Speaking to Newsday on November 21, Aboud said he received the news of his visa revocation in an e-mail on November 20.

He said the letter referred to "new information" that has come to the US authorities.

In a media release on November 21 titled "Silencing Civil Society", Aboud said for 28 years FFOS has championed equity, justice, sustainable development, and the protection of vulnerable grassroots and coastal communities.

"Today, however, we face an alarming reality: NGOs are being silenced. The recent revocation of my US visa raises serious concerns about whether foreign powers and our own government are attempting to intimidate or punish civil society voices that speak out. NGOs are not enemies of the State; we are a critical pillar of any functioning democracy. Without an independent civil society holding power to account, there can be no transparency, no oversight, and no protection against abuses of authority."

FFOS reiterated its stance on the US strikes on Venezuelan vessels, noting that "around the world, respected institutions are condemning" it.

"The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called the strikes 'unacceptable' and demanded an independent investigation. Human Rights Watch has deemed them 'extra-judicial killings.' International bodies warn that these actions breach the UN Charter and set a dangerous global precedent. No nation worldwide has supported the US in these extra-judicial killings.

"Yet here at home, our Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, publicly declared to 'kill them all violently' and has yet to condemn the deaths of two Trinidadians killed in these strikes. If the global community recognises these killings as unlawful, why does our own leader support them? If the United States has intelligence tracking these alleged 'narco-terrorists,' then present that intelligence before a court, not fire deadly missiles in international waters."