Gen Caine, Kamla discuss regional crime

TIES THAT BIND: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is all smiles as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, signs the visitors book at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s on November 25. - Photo courtesy US Embassy TT

CHAIRMAN of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, completed a whirlwind visit to Trinidad and Tobago on November 25, spending approximately three hours in this country after he flew in specifically to meet with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Caine’s itinerary called for a visit to Puerto Rico, where the US has amassed more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops as part of a hub for its strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats originating from Venezuela, to meet with US troops and engage with service members.

However, his itinerary changed and he included a brief visit to Port of Spain for a face-to-face meeting with Persad-Bissessar.

The top military advisor to US President Trump and US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, arrived at Piarco International Airport at 11 am aboard a US government aircraft and went straight to the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.

There, Caine met with Persad-Bissessar, Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, Defence Minister Wayne Sturge, Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Barry Padarath, Chief of Defence Staff, Commodore Don Polo, and Commanding Officer of the TT Regiment, Colonel Dwayne Edwards.

The meeting lasted less than two hours after which Caine left and went straight back to the airport in a convoy of no less than 16 vehicles including an ambulance and police in cars and on motorcycles.

LEAVING: Inside one of these vehicles, sat chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, as he left the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on November 25 en route to his plane at Piarco International Airport, following a brief meeting with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. - Photo by Lincoln Holder

In a media release at around 4.30 pm, Persad-Bissessar said the meeting reaffirmed TT’s strong relationship with the US as a global ally on the key priorities of regional security and stability.

It added she “expressed her government’s continued commitment to working to ensure that the harmful effects of narco-trafficking, human trafficking and transnational crime were eradicated for the benefit of our citizens, country and region.”

The release said Persad-Bissessar also “expressed gratitude for the existing co-operation between both nations as they have been built on decades of diplomacy and mutual benefit as global allies, now forming an instrumental partnership to protect our region.”

It said Caine, meanwhile, acknowledged and appreciated TT’s “continued leadership and efforts to working closely to ensure a stronger, safer and more secure region.”

The release did not say whether ongoing tensions between the US and Venezuela, or the US’s recent designation of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro as a terrorist – and the consequences of such – was discussed. Efforts to reach Persad-Bissessar for a comment proved futile.

On November 24, Maduro joined a list populated by the likes of Islamic terror groups al-Qaeda and ISIS, as the US State Department added Cartel Del los Soles, a group it alleges he leads, to its list of foreign terrorist organisations (FTO).

Suriname on Venezuela’s side

Suriname has added its voice to those countries in the region concerned about US aggression towards Venezuela.

Venezuela’s ambassador to TT, Alvaro Sanchez Cordero, sent Newsday an article written by Venezuelan news agency Ultimas Noticias regarding a meeting between Venezuelan and Surinamese officials on November 24.

That article said Venezuela’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Yván Gil met with Suriname’s president Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, both of whom, “reiterated their joint position rejecting the threats and military actions of the United States in the Caribbean.”

Gil also spoke about the meeting on his Telegram channel and expressed his gratitude for the displays of solidarity towards the Venezuelan people.

The meeting came a day before Suriname celebrated its 50th Independence anniversary.