President visits Defence Force

News Sean Douglas 8 Minutes Ago

President Christine Kangaloo, right, greets leaders during her visit to the defence force base at Chaguaramas on August 27. PHOTO FROM DEFENCE FORCE -

PRESIDENT Christine Kangaloo and her husband Kerwyn Garcia went to the Defence Force Headquarters in Chaguaramas on August 27 on what was termed a "special visit" by a post of the organisation's Facebook page. The post said they were warmly received by the chief of defence staff, officers and enlisted men and women.

The post referred to Kangaloo's titular role as commander-in-chief of TT's armed forces.

The visit came four days before August 31, Independence Day, for which a public holiday has been granted for September 1.

Normally the president would attend the parade of armed forces to mark Independence Day. However, this year the government opted to cancel the parade because of heightened concerns for the safety of top state officials plus members of the protective services during the state of emergency (SoE) called reportedly because of gang threats against state officials and officials in the criminal justice system.

"As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Her Excellency spoke to those gathered on the cancellation of this year's Independence Day parade and recognised the additional responsibilities currently being undertaken by the force and emphasized her profound gratitude to the men and women of the TTDF.

"Her Excellency underscored that the defence force's unwavering dedication, discipline and love of service to the nation remain invaluable and assured all in attendance that their hard work does not go unnoticed. Before departing, Their Excellencies also took time to engage in one-on-one conversations with members of the force, offering personal words of encouragement and appreciation."

Kangaloo's visit also comes amid regional geo-political tensions, where several US warships are heading to the Southern Caribbean, amid a war of words between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who dubbed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a narco-trafficker, with Maduro retorting, "The empire has gone mad."

Rubio recently hailed TT as one of five regional countries whom he considered to be part of a coalition against narco-trafficking. Otherwise there has been no word as to whether the TT defence force is stepping up its alertness during the impending US-Venezuela stand-off.