India's leader promises trade and investment in a visit to Trinidad and Tobago
'It's time for us to work together to give the global south its rightful seat at the table,' Modi said. 'For us there are no limits to our cooperation with you.'
The two-day trip was Modi's first official visit to the diverse, twin-island Caribbean country that shares longstanding ties with India. The visit was expected to boost investment in energy, health, security and other sectors.
In his speech, Modi said that he saw 'great potential' in working with Trinidad and Tobago on everything from developing new digital artificial intelligence tools to agriculture. He said that trade between the two countries was only set to grow 'with human development at the center.'
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a number of investments into medical, energy and technological infrastructure promised by Modi, and thanked the leader.
'This visit is more than just diplomacy. It marks a new dawn,' she said. 'India, and Trinidad and Tobago, will now work as strategic partners.'
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She said that the two countries were also working on renewing bilateral trade and investment agreements, and that Trinidad and Tobago were slated to expand exports to India.
In his speech, Modi also highlighted the long-standing connections between the two nations, which he said acted as a 'powerful symbol' of fraternity and trust between the two nations.
More than 35% of the Caribbean country's 1.4 million inhabitants are East Indian, descendants of indentured workers brought from India during the colonial era.
Modi was greeted warmly by many of the country's Hindu population, but some in Trinidad and Tobago's Muslim community sharply criticized the leader. About 18% of Trinidad and Tobago's population is Hindu, while 5% is Muslim.
'Both our nations rose from the shadows of colonial rule to write our own story,' Modi said. 'The legacy of shared heritage and mutual respect continues to guide our partnership.'
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The hitman arranged to meet with Gupta in the Czech Republic to continue the discussions and planning. – – – – – The story purportedly told to the American officers in the back of the Czech police van expanded the U.S. investigation and allegations in the probe. Amanat, said to have recruited Gupta into the plot, was allegedly identified as Vikash Yadav, 39, who U.S. officials describe as a government employee and a senior field officer with India's foreign intelligence service, called the Research and Analysis Wing. Last October, U.S. Justice Department officials announced murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against Yadav for directing the foiled assassination plot. The case is 'a grave example of the increase in lethal plotting and other forms of violent transnational repression targeting diaspora communities in the United States,' then U.S. assistant attorney general Matthew Olsen said at the time. Yadav is accused of providing information on the intended target, including his home addresses, phone numbers, and other identifying information. He also allegedly was involved in arranging the $15,000 advance. So far, Yadav remains out of reach. He is on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Those formal allegations match the alleged confession attributed to Gupta by the DEA agent in his report. What isn't in the agents' reports of Gupta's arrest in Prague is what Gupta later reported: that he was physically grabbed by half a dozen Czech police as he walked toward an airport exit and forced into a room at the airport, where he was strip searched, questioned, and ordered to unlock his phones, which he did. His lawyers say Czech police put him in the back of a dark SUV with tinted windows between the two Americans as seven Czech officers piled inside with them. He said the Americans didn't identify themselves as law enforcement officials and didn't inform him of his rights, including his right to silence. Nonetheless, Gupta said through his lawyers in court documents, whatever he said in the van, it wasn't the incriminating story of being recruited into a murder conspiracy by Amanat. 'At no point during the car ride did Mr. Gupta say anything about having someone in New York City killed,' his lawyers said. His lawyers claim the ride in the police van was much longer than the 10 to 15 minutes the DEA said it was. Gupta said he heard a Czech officer tell the Americans they would take the 'long route' to give them added time. His lawyers point to time stamps on one of Gupta's phones — about 75 minutes passed between Gupta giving the password to Czech police and the DEA agent photographing Amanat's contact information on it in the van. Lawyers also point to group chat messages between the DEA officers and prosecutors, in which the agent said Gupta was playing 'f–k f–k games.' 'That is not the text one would expect from an agent who had allegedly … just obtained an outright confession,' Gupta's lawyers argue. About two and a half hours after his arrest, Gupta was formally interrogated by Czech authorities. No Americans were present, Czech officials told Gupta's Czech defence lawyer. He wasn't as talkative as he might have been in the police van. The meeting lasted just 10 minutes, most of which was taken up by him being read his rights with the help of an interpreter. Gupta told the Czechs he came to Prague for the weekend, 'solely for leisure.' 'At present, I have nothing to declare, as I do not even know what charges have been brought against me. Once I am informed of the charges, I will respond to them accordingly,' was his statement which he signed. At his court hearing the next day, he was provided a Hindi interpreter, although he also speaks English. After consulting privately with his lawyer, Gupta made a statement to the court: 'I consent to extradition to the United States and request that the court allow me to purchase a plane ticket at my own expense so that I may travel to the United States as soon as possible to testify before the court that issued the arrest warrant. I will cooperate with U.S. authorities.' The court rejected his request to go on his own. He also, according to the minutes of the hearing by Czech authorities asked the Prague court officials to 'notify my son in India and my son in Pakistan, as well as the Indian Embassy in Prague, about my placement in pre-trial detention.' That part in the documents, about him having a son in Pakistan, and elsewhere a reference to him also having a Pakistan passport, grabbed attention in India and Pakistan, two neighbouring countries with strained and often hostile relations. Gupta denied in court appeals that he has Pakistan travel documents. He also told a court in Prague that he disputed the U.S. allegations. He said he had no reason to order a murder and didn't have the money to pay someone $100,000. He also, however, offered a $500,000 surety for his release on bond pending the outcome of his extradition hearing. He said false accusations may have been motivated by jealousy of his success by someone who wanted to ruin his name and reputation. He then fiercely fought against extradition, appealing repeatedly until his options expired. One of his complaints was that the prosecution against him had political and 'semi-military' interests. He complained of the impromptu interview in the back of the police van by the Americans, alleging they took his photo and photos of his travel documents and accessed his phones without respecting his rights. His lawyer called that 'unlawful' conduct. In a Czech high court ruling, it is also said that in one of Gupta's appeals, he claimed he was 'under an obligation, imposed by the Indian intelligence service, not to discuss the matter in any way.' He seemed a man full of contradictions. Documents speak of him having a global footprint, including a six-month visa for Switzerland, real estate deals in Dubai, travels through Asia and Europe, and trips to Los Angeles and New York. A court in Prague ordered him extradited to the United States last year and he arrived in New York, where he was taken into U.S. federal custody, in June 2024. He has pleaded not guilty. It is unusual for this insider information and level of detail in an ongoing criminal case to be available publicly, especially this early in the process. Lawyers for Gupta in New York, however, have asked the court to suppress some evidence and 'unlawfully obtained' statements, and to dismiss one of the three charges, that of money laundering. In support of that motion, last month they submitted reams of documents into the public court record, including the evidence sent to Czech officials to support the U.S. request for Gupta's arrest, and more sent to rebut Gupta's challenges to his extradition. At no point during the car ride did Mr. Gupta say anything about having someone in New York City killed Defence lawyers Gupta's lawyers say the money laundering charge should not be prosecuted as it was not included in the original indictment presented to Czech authorities when they requested Gupta's arrest. It was an additional charge included in a superseding indictment sent later. The charge expands the sentencing range Gupta faces from a 10-year maximum to 20 years. Gupta's lawyers' motion also complains that Czech police violated Gupta's rights by interrogating him and obtaining the passwords for his phones, and then sending the contents of the phones to U.S. authorities. They want any evidence from the phones to be excluded from Gupta's prosecution. They also claim the police van interrogation by U.S. officials was an 'unconstitutional interrogation' because Gupta was not informed of his rights prior to the questioning. They want any statements he might have made to be excluded from evidence as well. Those issues are being argued in a New York courtroom. Lawyers for Gupta and for Pannun did not respond to requests for comment on the case and the allegations. Officials at India's High Commission in Canada could not be reached for comment prior to publication deadline.
