PM Browne Rebukes Newsday Article on Missing Persons in Antigua
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has dismissed as “baseless condemnation” a recent Trinidad and Tobago Newsday article highlighting cases of missing persons in Antigua and Barbuda, calling it a smear campaign led by “deracinated opposition elements” in collaboration with foreign actors.
In a strongly worded response shared on social media, Browne criticised Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Minister Sean Sobers and the Newsday newspaper for what he described as moral hypocrisy. He pointed to Trinidad and Tobago’s own record of more than 500 missing persons annually, asserting, “You have no moral authority to condemn our beautiful country.”
The Newsday editorial, titled Antigua Anguish, raised concerns about an alleged pattern of disappearances in Antigua and Barbuda, referencing several unresolved cases over the past decade, including that of 21-year-old Trinidadian Thomas Vasquez. Vasquez has been missing since mid-April, with the article accusing Antiguan authorities of a delayed response and poor communication with concerned relatives.
But Prime Minister Browne countered that there is no evidence Vasquez went missing in Antigua. He alleged the young man had a history of clandestinely leaving the country by boat and was involved in marijuana cultivation on an illegal farm.
“Whereas we hope that the missing Trinidadian young man is safe,” Browne stated, “the facts needed to be stated.”
The prime minister also expressed sympathy for Vasquez’s mother and said he hoped the young man would be found alive. However, he stood by his government’s position, saying, “I stand always on the ugly truth without fear of consequences.”
The Newsday article had called for regional assistance, including from the FBI and CARICOM, to address what it described as a troubling pattern of disappearances and a lack of investigative resources in Antigua.
Browne’s full response:
Here again, deracinated opposition elements have joined with a foreigner to condemn our beautiful twin island state.
Mr Sobers/Newsday, with more than 500 individuals missing in Trinidad & Tobago annually and hundreds unaccounted for; you have no moral authority to condemn our beautiful country. Instead, you should focus on the exponential increase in crime in your home country.
Whereas, we hope that the missing Trinidadian young man is safe, there is no evidence that he went missing in Antigua.
He has had a history of entering the country by plane and leaving clandestinely by boat, ostensibly peddling marijuana from an illegal farm on which he worked here in Antigua.
Whereas, we sympathize and empathize with his grieving mother and trust that he would be found alive, the facts needed to be stated.
I stand always on the ugly truth without fear of consequences.
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The prime minister is saying there is no evidence to suggest he went missing here. Does the prime minister have evidence that he leave on boat/boats?
SMH. Mr. Delusional, you have already condemned our beautiful twin island state with the nasty, disgusting words you use on social media.
PM I know that you are fearless but please be more diplomatic in your responses. You now gave out some very critical information that the police might be keeping secret and using for their investigations.
Well said, PM. And yes the PM does not speak without facts. Immigration records proves that he comes but there is no record of him leaving on at least 2 occasions. The farm has been under survelliance but his mother calling wolf will now force all details to come out before its time.
100% support for the Hon. P.M. Gaston Browne. Who the hell cares what the crime capital of the Caribbean, T&T says, thinks and does. We are prepared to defend our own. Go to hell!
Here he goes again. He seemed to have known very much about the Choksi kidnapping and he has gone off on this one too. Where is the source of his information? Antigua/Barbuda needs to be rescued from this guy. It’s about time he stopped reliving the wharf rat days when he lived the life of a vermin. Please, somebody; let him know that he’s the Prime Minister of the country.
What is a faithful national? Who is a faithful National? A Gastonite, kool aid drinker. Antigua is 108 square miles. Where have all those missing persons garne? A plane load of passengers came into Antigua as visitors. How many went back from where they came.Some were involved in a boat accident off the coast of St Kitts.Where are the others?
Unbelievable that any TnT minister of government would have the garl to criticized our country on missing people, when TnT is the capital of kidnapped and missing person in the Caribbean, even elected PM have to step aside.
Yes PM Gaston stand up to all a them who think they can look down on us and criticized, even the one in SvG. This is not a puppet on a string government.
The all of a sudden so called worries, cared for, love and interest by this mother I guess wasn’t relevant prior, knowing her son not only working on a lousy weed farm, a job he was introduced to by another Trini, but he was able to travel back and forth to wherever quite freely, no question asked. I guessed things was real good in the family.
People does not understand a prime minister gets intelligence briefing every day probably starting from 5 am in the morning like how Elton martin and others had to report to Lester bird, where they are given some expletives, Gaston may be more abusive. The prime minister just can’t keep he mouth shut due to his personality character been an extrovert. Unlike the hon. Baldwin Spencer who is a walking encyclopedia or computer with lots of information from his time in office of intelligence briefing, and he does not use it to embarrass no one to this day. Yeah but ease up off the cursing of Gaston as though he is just crazy, he may be obnoxious but what he is saying is from the police briefing at the highest level and he just compromise them, the same he did with Nigel the custom officer, and what he accused him of not one of his custom colleagues could protest, they all kept quiet.
While you are quick to highlight that Gaston Browne finds the Trinidad NewsdayArricle baseless you are even quicker to swallow his findings that the gentleman in question was involved in the illegal drug trade.
This is an indictment on our immigration, customs and police.
When our prime minister can, in one swoop, throw three law enforcement agencies in the gutter or in Country Pond it show poor governance.
It is however worse when an ordinary uneducated parent can expose the incompetence of a head of state who boasts of more degrees than a thermometer.
If the prime minister is made aware of a criminal syndicate why didn’t he communicate it with the relevant bodies responsible for arresting the culprits?
Which of the law enforcement bodies brought this to the attention of the prime minister and exposed their incompetence and slothfulness?
What action did the PeeeeeeeeeM take against the law enforcement agency which knew of the illegal drug trade involving the missing Trinidadian and did nothing about it?
If the young man was known to be operating an illegal drugh trade in and out of Antigua why was he repreatedly allowed to enter and leave Antigua without sanction?
The disappearance of this Trinidadian young man was brought to the attention of the Antiguan public by his mother who resides in Trinidad.
Even after this was done no word came from the relevant authorities. Those are the agencies who routinely call on the public for help in solving crimes. However they seem not too interested in informing the public of a suspected crime and solving it.
PeeeeeeeeeM Browne, sympathy doesn’t come with conditions.
You are either sympathetic to the plight of someone or you are not. You cannot express sympathy in one breath and in the other condemns the victim as the cause for his/her unfortunate situation.
When will you Gaston Browne become a statement? While you are accusing Antiguans of colluding with a foreigner to tarnish Antigua’s good name, you have it soaking in gutter water.
Can you have your cake after you have eaten it?
No. No. No. No. No.
Should Antiguans remain quiet at the unfortunate situation of foeigner which is likely to pour eggs on every face?
Why isn’t the same attention being given to this case as was given to the case of the Canadian man who pulled the wool over your eyes at Devils Bridge and had Max Fernandez bathing in tears?
If there is no evidence that the young man who was last seen alive in Antigua went missing in Antigua where then is the evidence that he was involved in the illegal drug trade in and out of Antigua?
Mr PeeeeeeeeeM, I think you need some mouth driving lessons. You need to put your brains in gear before you feed your mouth with Epson salt.
If a million Trinidadians go missing in Trinidad don’t let that be your headache. Let the Trinidad authorities fight on that.
However when one goes missing in Antigua it is our problem. We all become concerned. We all feel the guilt of negative press. We have to deal with it.
Irrespective where the missing person comes from when it happens in Antigua it is our problem.
When a foreign country has concerns of its citizen who disappears in your country it is not time to wash that country in sea water nor country pond. It is time to act in the best interest of all parties.
The number of Antiguans in Trinidad is ten time more than the number of Trinidadians in Antigua.
Please grow a diplomatic and statesman like heart and balls.
Prove to us that you are not the modern day Charlie Chaplain!!!!!
Help me who born and raised in Antigua understand how nice the security of Antigua and Barbuda is portrayed when a young man from Trinidad can visit on a plane, leave on a boat; work on a farm that doesn’t have a legal license to grow marijuana. Is there a function Dept of Defense? PM Brown is supposed to be leading the Nation. How can his finger pointing be legit? Who’s responsible for the Security of Antigua and Barbuda?
@curious george, Bird people don’t have the capacity to connect the dots.