Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley cannot confirm if there is any presence of FBI or CIA agents in T&T, noting it is a question only the US Embassy can answer.
At a media briefing at Whitehall yesterday, Rowley said he met with senior officials from both agencies to discuss how they could assist in improving security.
The PM returned to T&T last week after a visit to Washington, DC. Rowley said then that T&T was being “liked” by transnational criminals who were not “small-timers”.
On which areas the US-based agencies will be able to help in, Rowley said they can assist local resources in tracking criminals if they surfaced in T&T.
He said the US Embassy hosted staff from different agencies, adding the Government was not apprised of which officials are in the embassy.
“The fact that a man comes in a priest’s gown doesn’t mean he is a priest. We don’t get a report as to who is in the embassy,” Rowley said.
“America is a friendly country, they have a big mission here with a big mandate and their staff come and go under the international regulations, so who’s in the embassy we don’t really know about that.”
Referring to meetings held with officers of the Delaware Police Department while in Washington, Rowley said T&T and the US shared similar objectives and a strengthened partnership could help clamp down on gun crimes, noting the weapons used by criminals were manufactured abroad.
“In America, you can go in a store and buy a truckload of guns if you wish. In Trinidad and Tobago, it’s a different system, but we have an interfacing; the people who are buying those guns know Trinidad and Tobago, are probably even citizens or family members of citizens, or see us as a place where they can make a profit. So we have a lot in common with the US authorities.”
Asked if recent travel advisories issued by the US Embassy in T&T over murders and shootings late last year were raised during the meeting, Rowley said while the issue did not come up, the focus was on crime prevention.
Police welcome any assistance
Contacted for comment yesterday, head of the T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) ASP Gideon Dickson said while any assistance to local crime challenges would be welcome, he raised concerns that National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds was not present for the meetings.
He added that senior police officers should have also been present to meet with such senior officials as they are major stakeholders in local law enforcement.
“I cannot think as to why none of our executive officers or even our Commissioner of Police or anyone from the strategic management of the organisation was present for such important discussions on the way forward. But we welcome any assistance to treat with our current issues.”