May 8, 2020

PM “Startled” By Opposition Leader’s Allegations About Venezuelan Aircraft

By Newsroom

LEFT: Venezuela's Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez. MIDDLE: Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley. RIGHT: Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad Bissessar

“Who is Kamla Persad Bissessar really working for?” This was the question posed by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley during a press conference on Friday, hours after the Opposition Leader called on him to “come clean” about the nature of his March meeting  with Venezuela’s Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez.

Lamenting that the visit remains “shrouded in deliberate secrecy”, Mrs. Persad Bissessar told a virtual media conference on Friday that she had been forwarded documents with a passenger manifest, for a private Venezuelan flight on March 27th. Admitting that her team had not tested the validity of the document which was sent to them anonymously, she called on government to clarify whether it had allowed a sanctioned aircraft to enter Trinidad and Tobago. Moreover, she questioned whether representatives from Venezuela’s PDVSA company were in the meeting and if so, why, if the meeting was COVID-19 related as was claimed.

Dr. Rowley denied the attendance of PDVSA officials during the meeting and in response to the aircraft allegations, said “If it turns out that the aircraft that the Venezuelan delegation came on is an aircraft that was identified by the United States, that was unknown to us. Because we do not normally ask the Presidential aircraft what aircraft they are coming on or who owns the aircraft?” 

Mrs. Persad Bissessar has rejected allegations that her party is attempting to invite US sanctions for political gain. “We in the United National Congress have done no such thing. What we have done is raise questions to ascertain if the Government has undertaken any action which can breach, disturb or offend the strong mutually beneficial relationships we share with our allies” she said.

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