PM: TT relations with Venezuela will be strengthened

People line up outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3, after US President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. - AP PHOTO

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar is optimistic that a US-led governance structure in Venezuela will help to strengthen relations between Trinidad and Tobago and the South American nation.

She made the statement in a post on her Facebook page on January 3, minutes after US President Donald Trump addressed a news conference announcing that the country’s military forces had attacked Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

Trump told reporters the US will run Venezuela in the wake of the military strike.

In a clear reference to Trump’s statement, Persad-Bissessar said, “Trinidad and Tobago looks forward to renewed co-operation and the strengthening of our longstanding friendship with the people of Venezuela in the coming years.

“May God guide and protect them as they transition away from years of oppression and dictatorship onto a new pathway towards democracy, justice and prosperity.”

Persad-Bissessar, in an earlier post, acknowledged the attack on Venezuela but said “Trinidad and Tobago was not a participant in any of these ongoing military operations.”

She added that TT continues to maintain peaceful relations with the people of Venezuela.

Persad-Bissessar has supported all aspects of the ongoing US military deployment in the Southern Caribbean, the establishment of a US military radar system at the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago and the indefinite granting of US military transit flights into and out of the Piarco and ANR Robinson International airports.

US strike 'deeply troubling'

Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, meanwhile, described the attack as “deeply troubling.”

She believes it could potentially affect TT and the wider Caribbean.

“While some information remains unclear and unconfirmed, any such development in our immediate geographic space is a matter of serious concern for Trinidad and Tobago, Caricom and the wider Caribbean,” Beckles said in a statement.

She said under the PNM, TT consistently upheld the principles of respect for sovereignty, no interference and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

“The PNM reaffirms our party’s firm commitment to our country and all countries maintaining the Caribbean as a zone of peace and we caution against actions that may further destabilise the region and endanger civilian lives.”

Beckles called on all parties involved to exercise restraint, respect international law and pursue dialogue and diplomatic solutions.

“The protection and preservation of human life must remain paramount.”

In her statement, Beckles also criticised Persad-Bissessar for not expressing concern about the well-being of Trinidad and Tobago staff based at the embassy in Caracas.

“We have taken note of the Prime Minister’s three-line statement this morning (January 3), which made no reference to the fact that Trinidad and Tobago has an embassy with staff in Caracas. We place on record our concern for the safety and welfare of the staff and all TT nationals in Venezuela.”

In a Facebook post, acting Foreign Affairs and Caricom Minister Barry Padarath said staff at TT's Caracas embassy had been contacted and they were safe and continuing with their duties.

"We thank them for their service to our nation," he said.

Caricom monitoring situation

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and other Caricom leaders met in an emergency session to discuss the US military strike in Venezuela.

She later told reporters that Barbados and Caricom, by extension, have not taken a decisive position on the issue.

Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, on January 3. - AP PHOTO

“Venezuela is our friend. The United States is our friend. In fact, in both instances, we have family relations in both countries,” Mottley, a former Caricom chairman, said during a news conference.

“By the same token, the Caribbean Community has been the entity that we have both chosen as a matter of first principles to align our foreign policy with.

“When the heads of government met this morning (January 3), not all of the persons were there because it was an emergency, early meeting. We took a decision that we will wait for other information to become present, and when that happens, we will certainly act collectively and I do not want in any way to prejudice the integrity of that consultative process with Caricom.”

Caricom, in a statement, said members met on the military action in Venezuela and were monitoring the situation, which has possible implications for neighbouring countries.

Writing on the wall

Historian Dr Jerome Teelucksingh believes the US attack on Venezuela was inevitable.

“We saw similar situations where US invasions occurred in recent history in Iraq with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and (Muammar) Gaddafi in Libya,” he told Newsday.

“So it was very strange that some of the so-called international relations experts did not expect a showdown and did not expect an invasion. The writing was on the wall because of the military encirclement that was happening.”

Teelucksingh said Caricom must now seek to “check and strengthen itself.”

He said, “Caricom needs a stronger voice. Its voice seems to have been lost in this Venezuela/US showdown.

If Caricom is not strong, then probably we need another regional body, with Latin America and the Caribbean, to prevent any future occurrences of a military invasion.”

He recalled that Caricom countries did not intervene to restore order in Grenada after Maurice Bishop and members of his Cabinet were assassinated in 1983.

“Why did we depend on the United States when Grenada had a crisis? This dependency on the United States does not augur well. It does not show the Caribbean as being independent. It doesn’t show there is any Caribbean unity.”

Teelucksingh predicted the attack would lead to “waves of refugees” in this country.

“People who were supporters of Maduro will now become refugees. That is a strong possibility. We had the refugees of the anti-Maduro people and now we could have refugees of supporters of Maduro.”