It has now been reported that (1) one kilo of cocaine has been found near the Gulfstream barge - the one that capsized and caused the disastrous oil spill, and (2) that satellite tracking shows the barge was in Venezuela before coming here.
Now, this raises even more questions and makes it now most important that we find out who the individuals are that owned the barge and who stood to benefit from this cargo. Also, it is important to note that we still don't know where the crew is nor do we know exactly what happened.
One thing is clear though: if we know that the barge was in Venezuela then the Americans do too. They probably have all the answers to our questions and are now biding their time to see what the Trinidadian authorities do next. Put another way, this ain't good news for us at all! You see, if there was Venezuelan oil mixed with Trini oil in the barge then reasonable conclusions to be drawn are that some person or persons high up was complicit in what was essentially a sanctions busting exercise. The story that there was a kilo of cocaine found near the barge seems to suggest that the ultimate beneficiaries are (or were) drug lords based here in Trinidad. Who are they?
But there are now very ugly and what ought to be most unnecessary suspicions of both the Prime Minister and the Minister Of Energy. Were they involved somehow? If so, how were they involved? And why did it take so long for the news of the oil spill to leak out (pardon the pun)? And why is nobody in the Opposition asking any questions? What exactly went on? It can't be a good thing for this country to have the Prime Minister et al under this kind of suspicion. And let's be frank: the unspoken and unproven suspicions are that there have been a series of coverups stemming all the way from the top. Are any of these suspicions unreasonable?
What do the Americans know? Are we in danger of being sanctioned? If so, who was responsible for this? We need (and deserve) the clear evidence - one way or the other.
There was at least a loss of US$10 million. That is a lot of money. Who is taking that loss? Who were the banks involved? Put another way, was any local bank involved in the transaction? If so, which bank?And don't tell me something like ABC Inc. from Panama. Please state the names of the actual persons. I don't think that many people realize how precarious our position is. If this was in fact a sanction busting exercise and possibly coupled with drug smuggling we are going to be punished. Who would have brought this on our heads?
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