Antigua PM urges US to resolve Venezuela dispute through diplomacy

Prime Minister Gaston Browne

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Monday called on the United States to settle its differences with Venezuela “through diplomacy and dialogue,” emphasizing that the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace.

In a post on his official Facebook page, Browne wrote, “We encourage President Trump to resolve the differences between the US and Venezuela, through diplomacy and dialogue. Let’s continue to preserve our hemisphere as a zone of peace.”

The statement comes amid a significant US military buildup in the region. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that he had decided on a course of action regarding Venezuela following multiple high-level briefings and the deployment of the USS Gerald Forde, the United States’ largest aircraft carrier. Additional assets, including a nuclear-powered attack submarine, P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers, and a guided-missile cruiser, have also been allocated to the US Southern Command as part of the mission.

Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders last month issued a statement reaffirming the region’s commitment to peace. The statement noted that, “save in respect of Trinidad and Tobago who reserved its position,” member states agreed on maintaining the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and stressed the importance of dialogue and engagement to resolve disputes peacefully. Caricom leaders also expressed their willingness to assist in achieving this objective.

Earlier, Caricom foreign ministers sent a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging Washington to provide assurances that any military action aimed at Venezuela would not threaten regional stability or proceed without prior consultation and warning.

The US military presence in the southern Caribbean is part of an effort to counter threats from Latin American drug cartels. Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who has openly supported Washington’s anti-narcotics operations in the region, stated she had “no sympathy for traffickers” and asserted that the US military should “kill them all violently.”

Venezuela has responded to what it considers a threat from the United States, mobilizing troops along its borders in response to the growing show of force.