(December 10, 2025)
Former director of the National Coastal Surveillance Radar Centre and National Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader, retired Coast Guard commander Norman Dindial, said that the Prime Minister’s claim is legally unsound. He said flagless vessels are classified as stateless, not pirates, and cannot be considered lawful targets.
His comments follow renewed questions about the September 2 strike near Trinidad and Tobago’s waters, now under scrutiny for allegedly killing two survivors in a second hit. Speaking outside Parliament on Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar said the incident “had little to do with Trinidad and Tobago” and suggested the unregistered vessel may have been viewed as carrying pirates. Dindial dismissed that interpretation.