US Reaffirms ties with T&T

PORTS OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD-US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar today to ‘reaffirm’ the strength of its partnership with the country and acknowledge the government’s support for US operations in the Caribbean. 

This, as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yesterday bolstered military troops along the Venezuelan Coast, including the Sucre State, the region from which the 11 men killed in a lethal strike by the US last week are believed to have originated. 

The US exercise and ongoing military build-up in the Caribbean was supported by Persad-Bissessar, who last week said the US forces should kill all drug traffickers, ‘violently.’

According to a release from Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Piggott posted to the State Department’s website yesterday, Landeau acknowledged Persad-Bissessar’s public support for US military operations and the government’s commitment to curbing illegal narcotics and firearms trafficking.  

The Deputy Secretary also emphasized the importance of establishing a U.N. Support Office for Haiti, with both leaders underscoring the need for further support to address insecurity and violence in Haiti, it said. 

The Washington Post earlier today reported that newly re-branded US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and US Air Force General Dan Caine had both arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday, speaking to nearly 300 soldiers at a base in Carolina, a city just east of the capital of San Juan.

Puerto Rico’s Governor Jenniffer González said Hegseth and Caine visited on behalf of US President Donald Trump’s administration to support those participating in the training.

“We thank President Trump and his administration for recognizing the strategic importance of Puerto Rico to U.S. national security and for their fight against drug cartels and the narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro,” González said.