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OPPOSITION Leader Pennelope Beckles has called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to retract her "kill all traffickers" statement, made in response to a US naval strike on a Venezuelan drug boat on September 2.

In a statement on September 2, Beckles said, "The Opposition is clear. We support strong and decisive action against drug trafficking, but it must be lawful, co-ordinated, and respectful of our national values and international obligations."

Beckles, who is also PNM political leader and a former Trinidad and Tobago ambassador to the UN, added, "We therefore call on the Prime Minister to immediately retract her reckless statement, to appear before the media, and to provide the public with proper answers."