The United States embassy here has warned visa holders that breaking US laws have ‘serious consequences’ for US visa holders, adding that the visa ‘is a privilege and not a right’ .
In a 26 second statement on the US Embassy’s Facebook page, the Embassy’s visa chief Mike Mitchell said, ‘breaking US laws have serious consequences for visa holders. ‘If you are arrested or violate any laws, your visa may be revoked, you may be deported, and you could be ineligible for future US visas. Follow the rules and don’t jeopardise your travel. A US visa is a privilege and not a right,’ he added.
The statement comes after Washington last weekend announced that it had revoked the US visa of the corporate secretary of the non-governmental organisation, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), Gary Aboud.
Aboud was arrested in 2013 outside the International Waterfront, Port of Spain, during a protest over the government’s decision to conduct seismic surveys in the Gulf of Paria.
Last weekend, Aboud said he had received the information from the United States Embassy here, that his B1/B2 Visa for travel to the United States had been prudentially revoked.
‘This email is considered official notification of that revocation,’ it stated, adding that the action is ‘based on the fact’ that additional information became available after the visa was issued indicating that Aboud may be ‘inadmissible’ to the United States and there ineligible to receive a visa.
Aboud, who has been critical of the US naval presence near Venezuela in recent weeks, said for 28 years, FFOS has championed equity, justice, sustainable development, and the protection of vulnerable grassroots and coastal communities.
‘Today, however, we face an alarming reality: NGOs are being silenced. NGOs are not enemies of the State; we are a critical pillar of any functioning democracy. Without an independent civil society holding power to account, there can be no transparency, no oversight, and no protection against abuse’.
The US has killed more than 80 people, including two Trinidad and Tobago nationals in over 20 strikes on suspected drug-transporting vessels. Washington has provided no evidence that those killed were involved in illegal drugs trade and the international community has condemned what it called the extra-judicial killings.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Minister, Roger Alexander, is reported to have written to the United States, seeking the assistance of the United States Embassy here to move on US-based social media actors, some of whom have dual nationality and targeting Trinidad and Tobago by spreading propaganda and fear.
The Express newspaper said it had obtained a copy of the letter, in which Alexander writes that ‘in recent weeks, several individuals-holding dual nationality or US residency-have been using media platforms, social-media channels, and online ‘news’ programmes to disseminate defamatory, inflammatory, and intentionally misleading narratives about our joint mission and the ongoing security operations within Trinidad and Tobago’.
He said these ‘individuals openly profit from sensationalism, distort the truth to generate viewership, and then retreat to cities such as Miami and other US locations while their manufactured narratives fuel tension, fear, and instability here at home.’
As a result, he is calling on the US to ‘support our efforts should we choose to exercise immigration authorities, including visa revocation, against non-resident individuals who repeatedly propagate destabilising content and place our security forces at risk’.
The letter also proposes that the US government issue an advisory or warning to ‘US persons residing abroad who use media platforms to knowingly spread false information that threatens the stability of Trinidad and Tobago or undermines joint security work’.
According to the newspaper, Alexander in his letter, also wants the United States’ active support to ‘Engage appropriate US agencies to review whether any of these actions violate US laws related to incitement, threats, cyber harassment, or misuse of broadcasting platforms.
‘Co-ordinate a joint communiqué, reaffirming that freedom of speech does not extend to deliberate misinformation campaigns that threaten lives or compromise security partnerships.’
The Express newspaper said that Alexander in a phone interview, confirmed the request, saying it followed what he described as a ‘pattern of misinformation’ that was ‘bordering on the destabilisation of the country.’
The paper said thwt while not citing any online media outlets or bloggers by name, Alexander said that over the last two months, there have been several foreign media reports about events involving Trinidad, in the backdrop of ongoing tensions with Venezuela and the United States, which have created public confusion and undermined trust in local authorities.
He referenced how international media reports claiming that an imminent military strike on Venezuela was under way, coupled with social media theories and speculation, led to the panic buying and traffic gridlock experienced on October 31, despite the Government’s reassurance that everything was okay.
‘There are persons who continue to make statements that from what we are seeing, they are doing it deliberately and it is being used to undermine public trust and endanger ongoing operations,’ Alexander added.
He singled out bloggers and social media users, saying their posts and spread of what he called ‘misinformation’ caused public alarm on that Friday.
‘Statements were being made that there would be chaos in the streets when nothing of the sort to be panicked by what was taking place,’ he sading that ‘people must stop hiding behind social media and saying what they want, forgetting there are consequences.’
Alexander said he has proposed solutions to the Embassy to try to prevent any future occurrences.
‘We can prevent persons from coming into the country if we get certain information, certain red flags, which would hopefully limit their accessibility and ability to further such spread of misinformation,’ he said, adding that that sanctions by external partners could be communicated to Trinidad and Tobago to restrict entry.
He also emphasised that the request was ‘not about targeting freedom of speech or targeting any individual.
‘However, we cannot allow irresponsible media actors, hiding behind foreign protections, to sabotage our progress. Trinidad and Tobago will protect its sovereignty, its institutions, and its people. Any individual-local or foreign-who intentionally places our nation at risk must understand that there will be consequences,’ Alexander said.
In his letter, Alexander wrote that ‘we are fully capable of addressing misconduct by our own citizens. However, when US persons or dual nationals exploit the protection of US jurisdiction to attack, defame, or sabotage our security environment while being shielded by foreign borders, the impact becomes a bilateral challenge. At that point, we need a coordinated response.