INTERNATIONAL Relations expert Dr Anthony Gonzales is urging Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to proceed with caution and avoid damaging Trinidad and Tobago’s diplomatic relations with its Latin American neighbours.

Gonzales took issue with Persad-Bissessar’s response to Colombian president Gustavo Petro, who had called for a search for the bodies of 11 members of the Venezuelan-based criminal organisation, Tren de Aragua (TDA). The men were reportedly killed in a US air strike in the Southern Caribbean.

Petro has insisted the bombing occurred in TT’s territorial waters, making it necessary for Persad-Bissessar to order a search to determine whether the vessel was civilian or, as the US has claimed, a drug-running operation.