PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A former People’s Partnership government legislator has backed Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and 2022. Human Trafficking report that has linked particular members of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) with human Trafficking.
In an article published in the Trinidad Express on Saturday, Dr. Devant Maharaj, who now resides in Canada, said that he assisted in the international investigations conducted between 2010-2015 within the UNC following allegations of human Trafficking.
“I can also confirm that the allegations were true and correct. I confirm that individuals who now hold high office in the party regularly supplied Venezuelan and Columbian prostitutes to persons within and without the party. I was approached several times to utilize this service, all of which I refused.”
The former legislator stated that no action was taken against those who were found to be involved in the criminal activity “as they were all close to the political leadership.”
“The leadership then, as it is now, placed a premium on blind loyalty over everything else. Consequently, persons identified were actively protected and subsequently promoted to the highest levels within the party and never penalized or punished,” said Maharaj.
According to Maharaj, under the current leadership, the UNC is a “den of iniquity, a new Sodom and Gomorrah, the cave for Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. The political leadership ostracizes competency and intelligence in favor of the lowest common denominator,” he said.
In Parliament on Friday, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley revealed that the 2022 US Report on Human Trafficking pointed fingers at current Members of Parliament but not those sitting on the side of the ruling PNM.
The Prime Minister was responding to questions from opposition legislator Rodney Charles on Human Trafficking, who stated that the twin island republic maintains its position on the Tier 2 Watchlist partly because it did not take action against “senior government officials alleged in 2020 to be involved in human trafficking”.
Meanwhile, the UNC has hit back at Rowley, challenging him to tell the country which member of the Opposition UNC is currently a senior official in his government.
In a statement, Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, said Rowley must take action against the senior officials within his PNM government who have been implicated in this human trafficking scandal.
“I call on Rowley to treat the scourge of human trafficking seriously and to desist from using such a horrific crime to score cheap political points and distractions, as this is not a joking matter.”
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