PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC)—Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has doubled down on her support for the United States war on drug traffickers in the Caribbean, saying also that “many drug money-funded businesses” are pumping money into a public relations campaign against the US initiative.

In recent weeks, the United States military has been bombing vessels in the international waters claiming that the occupants were drug traffickers without offering any evidence of such activity.

The United Nations UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also strongly condemned the airstrikes carried out by the United States against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Volker Türk said in a statement that the strikes “violate international human rights law”, demanding that they be stopped immediately.

Among those reportedly killed are two Trinidad and Tobago nationals, but Persad-Bissessar has reiterated her full support for President Donald Trump’s move to violently kill drug traffickers.

She told the Express newspaper that “President Trump’s comments were clear. He is committed to the fight against drug trafficking within our region. My Government will continue to support the US military drug interdiction exercises within the region”.

She said that Trinidad and Tobago has suffered tremendously from the illegal drugs trade and that members of the population “have been forced to live in terror behind burglar-proof bars in your own homes.

“There are many drug money-funded businesses who are pumping money into a PR campaign against the American military-led drug interdiction exercises. Take note of local and regional persons and groups that are vociferously condemning the fight against the drug cartels,” she told the Express newspaper.

“They are showing you who they are, believe them. I prefer for drugs and arms traffickers to be killed violently than for you, the law-abiding citizens to continue being killed violently in your own homes. I simply do not care about the glib opinions, fake sophistication and the grovelling masked as diplomacy to protect drug traffickers. Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear but those who commit violence against the population will face a most brutal reality,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar said the country would be informed if there is cause to do so, adding that there have been failed efforts by some persons and organisations to foment chaos and hysteria among the population regarding relations between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

“The PNM (main opposition People’s National Movement), their trolls and some in the media are trying to gaslight the population about war and attacks against Trinidad in the hope that myself or the government will respond to every rumour. That is not going to happen,” she said.

“I will let the population know if there is any cause for concern. In the meantime, whoever wants to take basket from the persons hysterically trying to protect drug traffickers from the US military, they are free to do so and make fools of themselves,” she added.

Earlier, Venezuela’s Minister of Justice Diosdado Cabello has called on Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar to refrain from meddling in Venezuelan affairs, saying that the South American country reserves the right to take ‘necessary action’ .

Caracas has accused Washington of using the war on drugs as a pretext to remove Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro from office and has accused Port of Spain of siding with the Trump administration in carrying out the regime change.

Cabello said the Port of Spain has taken a stance of forming a front against Venezuela despite historical relations and trade between the two.

“Yet we have been attacked by Trinidad and Tobago, by the hand and by the voice of the lady who is the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, who has shown no regard for the long history of good relations between our nations. It will not be the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, with her provocations, who derails us from the train of peace. No. Because they have a habit of threatening and attacking us, and then pretending they want to maintain good relations. What good relations? If you are attacking and targeting Venezuelans, if you don’t care about them at all, then Venezuela, as always, reserves the right to take the necessary actions,” he said, adding that Trinidad and Tobago could decide what it wants to do with the Venezuelans living in its borders, noting that Trinidadians in Venezuela are not harmed or mistreated.

“We have many Trinidadians here, and we don’t harm them, not at all. Anyone who wants to understand how things really work can ask the governor of Sucre State: people from Trinidad come here to take Venezuelan products every single day. Isn’t that true? Every single day. Because it’s a historic relationship. And we do not mistreat the people of Trinidad. They are our brothers,” he said.

Cabello said he wanted to give advice to Persad-Bissessar.

“She should focus on governing her own country. There are enough problems there instead of meddling in Venezuela’s internal affairs, attacking our nation by allowing military exercises right next to our coasts. Those were undoubtedly provocations against us, provocations we did not fall for,” he said.

Last month, the Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat said that regional leaders had discussed several issues on the regional agenda, including the security build-up in parts of the Caribbean and its potential impact on member states.

It said that the position at that meeting was not endorsed by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.