(Trinidad Express) No State resources will be wasted searching the sea for bodies of Venezuelans killed by the United States military in a drug interdiction exercise last week, says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.The Prime Minister stressed Trinidad and Tobago’s duty ends with recovering any carcasses that wash ashore.She was responding to a call by Colombian President Gustavo Petro on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to search for the remains of the 11 men killed in a lethal strike by the US military on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs in the southern Caribbean.Police have yet to identify the two bodies which washed ashore over the weekend.Speaking with the Express yesterday, Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro said the Police Service was calling on anyone with information to come forward. He also advised against people speculating on whether they may be any of the 11 Venezuelan nationals killed in the Caribbean Sea on September 2 during an airstrike by the United States military.“Thus far, The TTPS continues to investigate both reports of bodies washed up in the Eastern Division. At this time, we will not want to speculate as to the origin of the bodies, or the manner in which they met their demise. But we are asking anyone with information to come forward and share that info with us so we can progress our investigation,” Guevarro stated.On September 5, an unidentified body washed ashore near O’Halloran Trace, Cumana, Toco.On September 7, the body of a man washed ashore along Trinidad’s north-eastern coast at Balandra Beach.Colombia’s Petro yesterday took to his X account, referencing reports of fishermen’s fears in Trinidad.Of the strike, carried out last week on a vessel the US says was carrying 11 members of the Tren de Aragua gang, he said it was “extremely important” that the country’s Government search for the remains of what he said were civilian dead.He also questioned whether permission for the military operation was given to the US by the Government.Petro had earlier criticised the operation, writing on his X account, “If this is true, it’s murder anywhere in the world.”“We have been capturing civilians transporting drugs for decades without killing them. Those who transport drugs are not the big drug traffickers, but the very poor young people of the Caribbean and the Pacific,” wrote Petro. In his post yesterday, he wrote, “It is extremely important that the Caribbean republic of Trinidad and Tobago search for remains of the civilian dead from the US bombing of a civilian vessel, about which we do not know if it was carrying drugs, and if it was, it should not have been bombed.“The bombing took place in the territorial waters of Trinidad and Tobago, did the island’s government give permission? Life comes first always and everywhere,” he added.The Express asked Persad-Bissessar whether this call will be heeded and whether law enforcement resources will be dispatched to search for bodies.She said: “No, we will not waste resources to look for those bodies. Our Coast Guard resources will be utilised for the protection of our borders, not to look for dead drug traffickers. However, if any carcass washes up on our shores we will recover it,” she said.She said this vessel was transporting drugs by members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang.“That was not a civilian vessel. The drugs on that boat bring death to persons here, destroy families and careers and fracture our society. Those drugs bring more death and despair than conventional weapons.“We are in a war against drugs and trafficking. There will be consequences, I much prefer seeing drug and gun traffickers blown to pieces than seeing hundreds of our citizens murdered each year because of drug-fuelled gang violence,” she said.PM off to New YorkOn Monday, the Prime Minister held a telephone discussion with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. The Deputy Secretary commended Trinidad and Tobago as a strong US partner in the Caribbean. He acknowledged Persad-Bissessar’s public support for US military operations in the southern Caribbean Sea and both governments’ commitment to curbing illegal narcotics and firearms trafficking.Persad-Bissessar said she plans to have face-to-face meetings with US officials while in New York later this month. The Prime Minister will be making her first official trip to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which takes place from September 23 to 29.“Yes, I will be attending. There is a draft agenda that is being finalised,” she said. “We are having discussions through the Port of Spain US Embassy and directly on the phone. The country can expect to see more cooperation between the US and Trinidad in the future.”