ttgapers.com

As most of the CARICOM leaders arrived for the Summit Of The Americas in Trinidad yesterday, the public are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the US & Venezuelan delegations. Expected to arrive today are Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, US President Barack Obama and US Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton.

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will arrive this afternoon from Haiti, where she held talks yesterday with that island’s President, Pierre Preval. Obama flies into Trinidad aboard Air Force One around 4 pm, after a one-day visit to Mexico. He will be driven in the “Beast,” straight to the Hyatt, in time for the opening ceremony at 6 pm.

Security will be tight as the “Beast” travels along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway to the Hyatt. Curious onlookers are expected to turn out in their numbers to see the high-security vehicle, although they will not be able to see Obama. The US President’s entourage will be huge, security officials told the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian last night. Security officials were busy at Piarco International Airport yesterday, preparing for the arrival of heads and their delegations. From the Piarco intersection, soldiers and police officers kept watch on vehicles and pedestrians along BWIA Boulevard. Both the new and old terminal buildings were busy with activity.

Most of the Caricom leaders arrived on commercial flights at the new terminal building. Antigua’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer arrived on Wednesday night, while the others came in yesterday. At the refurbished old terminal building, members of the Special Anti-Crime Unit (SAUTT) conducted special searches on all vehicles involved in escorting heads of State and their delegations. These included the vehicles to carry the heads of states, the police escort vehicles, police motorcycles, and PTSC buses carrying members of delegations.

“It was a very tedious task, but we have to ensure that everything was in order and safe for the visitors,” one soldier said. At the Hyatt, there was heightened security for today’s official opening of the summit. Several people said they received invitations for the opening yesterday. One of them was Jack Warner, in his capacity as FIFA vice-president. He respectfully declined.

Warner said while he holds the event and its distinguished participants in high esteem, he could not subscribe to the "wanton wastage, lack of accountability and callous disregard for the needs of the citizens", which have been the features of the preparation for the event. "More importantly, why for an event that has been in the planning for four years, it has only now been decided to extend an invitation to me as a kind of after-thought," he said. He has therefore declined to attend the event.