The Caribbean Nation Unexpectedly Going Along With Trump’s Drug-Boat Narrative
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s support for Washington’s policies has set her apart from other leaders in the region.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at last month’s Caricom heads of government meeting.
Photographer: Jonathan Ernst/Pool/ReutersWhen the US destroyed the first alleged drug boat in the Caribbean on Sept. 1, beginning the buildup to a raid that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro four months later, the new government of Trinidad and Tobago came out strongly on Washington’s side. “The pain and suffering the cartels have inflicted on our nation is immense,” said Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a statement released a day after the boat strike, which the US government claimed killed 11 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. “I have no sympathy for traffickers; the U.S. military should kill them all violently.”