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Citizens experienced a frightful Friday yesterday following international media reports claiming that an imminent military strike on Venezuela was under way. Fears grew stronger when news broke that Defence Force personnel had been ordered to report to their bases. The reports triggered pa-nic-buying, with supermarkets packed, long queues at gas stations, and gridlocked traffic across the country. Internationally, US Presi-dent Donald Trump stated he had made no such decision to strike Venezuela. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared a Miami Herald report about the alleged attack, telling the Herald: “Your ‘sour-ces’ claiming to have ‘know-ledge of the situation’ tricked you in writing a fake story.” In Port of Spain, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bis-ses-sar said she had received no intelligence reports of any planned military strike in the region. She spoke with report-ers outside Parliament where she sought to calm growing public anxiety. And, the United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, on its Facebook page, shared a news report from Rapid Response 47 on X, with both a photo and video of President Trump saying there was no truth to reports about strikes being consi-dered in Venezuela. How the day unfolded Feelings of anxiety took hold of citizens early yesterday morning when reports surfaced that the T&T Defence Force had been placed on high alert, with all personnel ordered to report to base within hours. The Express verified the existence of a circular issued mid-morning, which read: “Please Be Prepared To (PBT) report to the office if required today. Pending confirmation from Detachment Commander Regimental Head-quarters.” Similar instructions were reportedly given to the Coast Guard while the T&T Police Service (TTPS) restricted all leave. The United National Congress (UNC) later labelled a media report on the Defence Force being called out as “Fake News”. No answer in Parliament Public confusion grew when Opposition MP Marvin Gonzales, under “urgent questions”, asked Defence Minister Wayne Sturge whe-ther Defence Force personnel had been instructed to return to work immediately. Sturge chose not to answer, citing Standing Order 27(g), which allows a minister to withhold information if its disclosure is deemed contrary to the public interest. Although he declined to respond in Parliament, Sturge later appeared in a 35-second video with Government Senator Phillip Edward Alexander, who asked if there was any reason to panic. Sturge replied, “No need to panic.” Prime Minister responds Upon arriving at Parliament, Persad--Bissessar was questioned by the media about reports that Defence Force officers were being called to duty. “I don’t know. I have no information or knowledge about that. I’ll find out,” she said. When pressed, she said: “I don’t know, no one has requested these things of me, so when it comes on my desk or on this phone, I have seen nothing of that sort, and I get a lot of messages. So if there is a situation that arises, we will deal with it.” Persad-Bissessar acknow-ledged international media reports of an imminent US strike on Venezuela but pointed out that Trump had denied them. “So, again, there is a lot of speculation, not just here locally, everywhere. I mean it’s a situation that really demands everybody’s attention; we will keep our ears and eyes peeled and act when we see it’s appropriate,” she said. The Prime Minister added that while the country “might be getting rained out yesterday”, it was “not sitting ducks”. “We have been receiving intelligence reports and thus far, I have none that there is an imminent strike anywhere in the region,” she said, ur-ging citizens to remain calm. “Be calm, there’s nothing to fear at this time. I cannot predict the future, but on my cards, my books, there is nothing to fear,” she said. “At this point in time, we have no cause for concern. If and when that happens, I will share it with you as soon as it comes to me,” she added. When asked about contingency plans, she said it would be inappropriate to disclose sensitive national security in-formation but reiterated there was “no need for panic”. “The public should be go-ing about their business, keep safe, keep strong and always put your faith in the Almighty and they will be fine, we will be fine. If there is any cause for concern with Trinidad and Tobago, I will share it with you,” said Persad--Bissessar. She noted that panic had also surrounded the visit of the US warship USS Gravely earlier in the week, which had been “calm” and “peaceful”, with even children tou-ring the vessel. The Prime Minister added that Parliament was meeting yesterday to extend the state of emergency (SoE) for another three months. While not a “cure-all” or “panacea”, she said data showed the SoE had helped reduce murders and serious crimes, and the Police Commissioner had recommended its extension. Responding to a question about fluctuating oil prices, Persad-Bissessar said that because T&T’s economy is energy-based, it had always faced “price shocks” and “pro-duction shocks”, and the Government would continue monitoring global trends. Ministry urges calm Later in the day, the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs released a statement acknowledging “heightened anxiety in the public domain” and dismissing “fake news” reports of an imminent change in national or regional security conditions. The statement cited White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, who denied the US was preparing for military action and said any announcements re-garding Venezuela would come directly from the presi-dent. The ministry said it remained in close contact with the US Embassy in Port of Spain and had received no information suggesting cause for concern. “All citizens are therefore urged to remain calm. The United States of America through its Southern Command (SouthCom) is in fact focused on assisting in disaster recovery efforts for Jamaica,” the release said. The ministry assured that it would promptly update the public on any developments affecting national security. Alexander: ‘It’s normal’ Amid the panic, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander did not deny that Defence Force personnel were called out but described the move as “normal”. He added that authorities had received reports of a planned protest outside Par-liament by “locals” rather than “Spanish” nationals.
