The Assembly of Caribbean People calls the narrative that the United States is behind narcotraffickers in the Region, false. It shares a view placed in the international arena that what the U.S is really after is regime change in Venezuela, utilimately to attain access to the hydrocarbon resources. Alicia Boucher has more in this report.
00:00The Assembly of Caribbean People shares the view by some internationally that United States Action in the Caribbean is intended to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
00:11This is being communicated by a member of the ACP's Regional Executive Committee, David Abdullah.
00:16So it is about regime change.
00:18But surely Mr. Abdullah, yes, what is the objective?
00:22Hydrocarbons. Venezuela still sits on the largest reserves of oil in the world.
00:27And therefore, Mr. Trump has rejected the whole idea of climate change.
00:32He has withdrawn from the Paris Accord, climate accord.
00:35He wants to ramp up oil production and so on.
00:40He also believes it is a strategy allowing the U.S. to keep an eye on China and its growing strength in the Caribbean.
00:47Abdullah says that the U.S.'s narco-trafficking narrative has been falling apart in light of the deployment of thousands of troops
00:54and what he calls purely offensive military assets.
00:59Guided missiles and destroyers are to attack another country, targets in another country.
01:0610,000 troops doesn't deal with a pirogue with four big or more motors on it, right?
01:13Those things just don't equate.
01:14He says narco-trafficking could have been tackled through the strengthening of the present military-to-military agreements
01:21that the United States has in this country and, by extension, other countries in the region.
01:26But on the flip side...
01:28The guns that are killing all people are coming from the United States primarily, yes?
01:35That is why CARICOM has been urging the United States to strengthen the stopping of the export of guns out of the U.S. into the Caribbean.
01:46The ACP has passed a declaration through its regional executive committee with an attached petition,
01:52open to people from around the world, which has now garnered over 500 signatures.
01:57The declaration calls on CARICOM heads to meet urgently and come to a position against U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean.
02:05The ACP's declaration also affirms that the Caribbean must remain a zone of peace.
02:11We further call on the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana to withdraw their statements,
02:17which undermine regional unity, are disrespectful of other CARICOM member states,
02:23and contrary to CARICOM objectives of acting on the basis of common foreign policy positions.
02:29And we further call on these governments not to allow the U.S. to use their countries as a military staging point
02:37to attack any sovereign state, and in this instance, Venezuela.
02:42The ACP says different countries across the region are engaging in various types of demonstrations against what is transpiring.
02:50According to Abdullah, the situation is fracturing CARICOM,
02:54and the ACP makes a call to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
02:58As the chair of CARICOM, to call an emergency CARICOM summit,
03:02which he has not done since this issue arose two months ago,
03:06so that we at least will know, because CARICOM has issued not a single statement about this issue.
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