Kingstown remains silent some six days following a lethal U.S. military strike which, according to all reports, occurred inside St Vincent’s territorial waters.
Remnants of the alleged drug boat hit by the strike were found off Canouan on Saturday.
St Vincent Times efforts to obtain official confirmation have been futile, even as St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J Peirre, on Monday confirmed that lives were lost.
Peirre was referring to reports of a second strike which, according to reports, occurred off Owia in which it is understood that three St Lucian nationals were killed.
“I can confirm that people lost their lives. As to the circumstances, I have no official notification on the circumstances surrounding their deaths”.
St Vincent’s Opposition Leader, Ralph Gonsalves, on Monday described U.S. actions in the Caribbean as “wholly unjustified in law” and warned that they threaten regional stability and sovereignty.
The Opposition Leader criticized the current administration in St. Vincent for failing to speak out, suggesting they are afraid of US retaliation, particularly regarding their Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs or diplomatic ties. He advocates a “mature engagement” with the US that avoids both “subservience” and “infantile opposition” to ensure the survival of free and independent Caribbean peoples.
Gonsalves stated that the unilateral action of the US in destroying vessels within or near Caribbean waters challenges the independence of regional nations. He suggests that if Caribbean governments remain silent out of fear, they risk being seen as “slaves of the United States” or mere “local government bodies” rather than sovereign states with national rights.
He emphasized that even if individuals are involved in drug trafficking, they are entitled to a trial and are “innocent until proven guilty.” By destroying boats at sea, the US acts as “judge, jury, and executioner,” which Gonsalves terms a “species of barbarism.”
Meanwhile, this publication understands that police in St Vincent conducted a major drug haul on Monday. It remains unconfirmed if it was related to the U.S. strike on Friday.
Reports to the St Vincent Times indicate that some 9kilos of cocaine were seized. The exact location of the haul has not been made public yet by local authorities.
The St Vincent Times understands that there have been several reports of cocaine washing ashore in other Southern Caribbean islands since Saturday evening.
The Trump administration has adamantly defended the strikes as necessary to stop illegal drugs from entering the U.S. Since the strikes began in September, at least 37 strikes have killed 120 people, excluding Friday’s strike, according to the Department of Defense.
The U.S. resumed boat strikes in late January after largely backing off from attacking boats in the region following the U.S. military’s Jan. 3 kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.