MINISTER of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers yesterday denied that any sitting minister in the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led Government had their United States visa revoked.
In a statement posted on his social media accounts yesterday, Sobers said: “Contrary to a story in today’s (Sunday’s) Trinidad Express authored by Mr Mark Bassant, the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs is pleased to inform the population that NO sitting Trinidad and Tobago Government Minister’s US visa has been revoked.”
He added: “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has no involvement in the issuance or revocation of US visas.”
The Sunday Express report stated that the US visa of a sitting minister had reportedly been revoked, while the visa status of a senior judicial officer had also come under scrutiny.
The newspaper had contacted the minister via WhatsApp on October 2, seeking a response to the report. Although the message appeared to have been read that day, no response was received. Follow-up messages sent on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week also went unanswered, as did at least two telephone calls made during that period.
Further attempts to reach the minister by telephone on Friday were unsuccessful. A call placed at 9.26 a.m. was answered but immediately disconnected, while a second call shortly afterwards went unanswered. Subsequent WhatsApp messages seeking comment were read, but no response was received.
The report also stated that a senior judicial officer had confirmed being summoned to the US Embassy but said the meeting concerned work-related matters.
The officer, who spoke with the Sunday Express on condition of anonymity, said they had asked whether the meeting would affect their visa status and were told it would not.
“I did ask if this in any way would affect my visa, but I was informed that it would not,” the officer said.
The report further cited Immigration and national security sources who said US visa revocations and suspensions had affected public officials and members of the business community.
Among those reportedly affected were at least six Immigration officers and a police officer attached to an elite unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), according to the sources.
The sources estimated that close to 50 people across several sectors could be affected by the ongoing action.
The US Embassy in Port of Spain, in response to questions from the Sunday Express, declined to comment on individual cases, citing the confidentiality of visa records.
A spokesperson said US authorities continuously reviewed visa eligibility and would revoke visas when information indicated that an individual no longer qualified under US law.
In June, Attorney General John Jeremie disclosed in Parliament that the US had revoked the visas of certain members of the business community, stressing that the decisions were made by US authorities and that the Trinidad and Tobago Government had played no role in determining whose visas were revoked.
