Caribbean Airlines’ management is disputing claims that passengers on a Monday flight from the country to Orlando were hassled by immigration and federal authorities due to an alleged strain in relations between the US and Trinidad.
Opposition lawmaker Roodal Moonilal had charged that more than 80 % of the flights to the Orlando Airport had been subjected to secondary screening because ties between the two nations have been strained due to a mega cross-border gas deal concluded between Trinidad and neighboring Venezuela last year. The US has sanctioned Venezuela in part because of alleged fraudulent elections and other threats to democracy.
Speaking at an opposition United National Congress (UNC) mini rally on Monday night, Moonilal said that most passengers on the flight were “placed in special jackets they had to put on. They were ushered and carted away to a security room, where they were subjected to a much more aggressive pat down. Their luggage was searched again, and some also had to undertake what is called swabbing of electronic devices for explosive residue,” the parliamentarian stated.
However, responding to the claims, the airline denied the allegations, noting that “the airline can confirm, following thorough checks with its senior personnel in Orlando, that no such screening exercise with respect to Caribbean Airlines passengers was conducted. Furthermore, the airline has received no notification or advisory from US authorities indicating that such an exercise was conducted or is being contemplated.”
Moonilal’s suggestions have come amid mounting paranoia in the Caribbean region about deportations, increased scrutiny of travelers, and raids by ICE agents of West Indian enclaves, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens, since the Trump administration took office on Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, the Guardian newspaper quoted Moonilal as saying that CAL was not the subject of his commentary, noting that “this is a TSA matter, not a CAL matter. I cast no aspirations on CAL, or it is not an indictment on CAL. CAL cannot be aware of the US TSA policies and practices. The role of CAL is to drop and pick up passengers.”
