Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has this afternoon denied that her government had any involvement with the revocation of corporate secretary of the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) Gary Aboud’s United States visa, further stating that Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) were not being silenced.

A statement from the Prime Minister follows Aboud’s claim earlier today that he was informed that his B1/B2 visa for travel to the US had been “prudentially revoked via an email from the US Embassy this morning.

In her response Persad-Bissessar said the government has no involvement in the decisions or actions taken by the US government or the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, regarding its visa and immigration policies. Such matters, she said, fall under the sole jurisdiction of the US government.