T&T joins America's Counter Cartel Coalition

Trinidad and Tobago has joined a newly established military alliance known as the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition. The country joined the alliance after United States President Donald Trump signed the Doral Charter at the Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida.President Trump told the leaders of the various nations in attendance:“I saw it so badly, how you’re suffering with what’s happening with the crime in the region. And I said, if we ever come back, we’re going to eradicate that crime, and I’m going to work with you, and if you want, we’re going to do it, we can do it pretty easily.”

The other countries present were Guyana, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.Addressing the hand-picked invitees at the summit, President Trump said, "The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks once and for all. We’ll get rid of them. We need your help.” He added: “You have to just tell us where they are. We have amazing weaponry, as you probably noticed over the last short period of time.”

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who stood to the right of President Donald Trump during the signing ceremony, received the pen used to sign the agreement from the US president. The symbolic gesture appeared to delight the Trinidad and Tobago leader, who has remained steadfast in her support for the expanding United States military presence in the Caribbean and the region’s joint campaign against drug cartels.

Trump jokes about PM Kamla name, references Kamala Harris

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar shared a light moment with Donald Trump during the Summit of the Americas in Florida on Saturday when the US president joked about the similarity between her first name and that of former US vice-president Kamala Harris.

While acknowledging the presence of regional leaders at the gathering in Doral, Florida, Trump paused when he came to Persad-Bissessar’s name. “Your name is very similar to a first name that we have, but fortunately it’s pronounced differently,” Trump said. “This is Kamla as opposed to Kamala. I like Kamla better, in many ways. And I have to say thank you very much, but I have to be careful with that first name. I don’t want to get it mixed up because it would ruin your reputation completely.”

Trump, drawing laughter from those present, continued by recounting a brief exchange with the Trinidad and Tobago leader about the pronunciation of her name. I said this is the same pronunciation. She said, ‘No sir, it’s a little different.’ It’s Kam-la as opposed to Kam,” he said, emphasizing the distinction. Trump later handed a pen to Persad-Bissessar after signing a proclamation committing to countering cartel criminal activity.