Lee asks Rowley: ‘Who is the real traitor?’

UNITED National Congress (UNC) deputy political leader David Lee said recent developments regarding Government's meeting with a Venezuelan contingent should have the population questioning who is the real traitor to this country.

In a statement Thursday, Lee said recent media reports that the US Embassy accused the government of breaking the 73-year-old Rio Treaty by meeting recently with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, “proves that this administration is one of deceit and betrayal." Rodriguez is said to be under sanction by the US.

Lee said, "Citizens must now ask themselves, who is the real traitor to the principles of good governance and patriotism. Is it the Prime Minister who facilitated actions which could harm our relations with the US...or the Leader of the Opposition who sought to have the Government account for their reckless actions?

“It is utterly disgraceful that the Prime Minister opted to refer to the Leader of the Opposition as a traitor. The facts are clearly showing that not only has his Government misled the people of this nation, but their actions have thoroughly endangered the well-being of our national image, jeopardised our relations with our allies and embarrassed us on the global stage.”

Lee described as “a total act of betrayal” the government saying it did not know who was accompanying Rodriguez on her visit here on March 27 when there are documents in the public domain which prove otherwise.

He described Dr Rowley's past attempts to demonise Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as "pure acts of desperation of a person who has been caught off guard with no transparent, plausible answer for the damning allegations which have been raised against his Government."

"What she has done, in keeping with her constitutional duty, is ask the Prime Minister to account for the possible reckless actions of his administration, actions which without the prompting of any local entity have indeed breached treaties with our US ally.”

Rowley has accused Persad-Bissessar of stoking sanctions by the US and branded her a traitor. National Security Minister Stuart Young said the meeting with Rodriguez was about covid19 and he was not aware of the other people in the contingent. In the Senate on Tuesday, the Attorney General said the UNC was looking for a scandal where there was none.