Drug dealers against me

And in a strange twist, Manning said that as a result of drug dealers viewing him as “the man who standing in their way”, as a result he is now being attacked daily in the media.

Speaking on Monday night before supporters who gathered at St Margaret’s Junction in Claxton Bay, he said, “This is the price I am called upon to pay. It matters not my friend...I am a soldier!”

Manning said he observed the attacks against him in he media intensified following the deployment of the several sea vessels recently. “The minute, ladies and gentlemen, the minute those boats were properly deployed, this is our fast patrol crafts and our interceptors, we began to notice attacks on the Prime Minister in the media. You getting the message? We began to notice attacks becoming more and more strident.”

Saying that he is “incorruptible” and “not for sale”, Manning said he and his government was committed to eradicating the drug trade in an effort to deal with the spiraling crime in the country.

“I can tell you one thing”, he went on, “there are drug dealers in this country and I am not calling any names. I know the newspapers will ask me to name them, but I will do no such thing.

The information that we have is not so much that they are against the PNM (People’s National Movement) you know. They would like to see a PNM government but they are against the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago because that is the man who is standing in their way.” Manning said he wanted it to be known “to all and sundry that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago “will not waiver one iota in its commitment” to rid this country of the drug trade. “We shall not flinch.”