Venezuelan Foreign Minister meets Antigua PM amid US military presence in Caribbean

Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil has held talks with Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne as Caracas seeks regional backing in the face of increased U.S. military activity near its borders.

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Gil, accompanied by Vice Minister for the Caribbean Raúl Li Causi, also met with senior officials from Antigua’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Permanent Secretary Clarence Pilgrim and Ambassador Clarence Pilgrim.

The visit follows Washington’s decision last week to deploy an amphibious squadron, a nuclear-powered submarine, several destroyers, a guided-missile cruiser, and P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft to the southern Caribbean. The move was announced by then-U.S. President Donald Trump as part of operations targeting Latin American drug cartels.

In response, Caracas has described the U.S. buildup as a direct threat and mobilized troops along its borders.

Gil said the talks in Antigua were “constructive,” noting that he carried President Nicolás Maduro’s message of solidarity and warning against threats to regional stability.

“We discussed in depth the current geopolitical situation in the region and the various threats that jeopardize the peace and security of our peoples,” Gil said, citing the violation of Latin America and the Caribbean’s status as a “Zone of Peace” under a 2014 CELAC declaration and the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco, which prohibits nuclear weapons in the region.

He added that the two sides also reviewed bilateral cooperation and regional projects, including Agro-ALBA, an initiative aimed at strengthening agricultural ties among ALBA member states.

Antigua and Barbuda is among several Caribbean countries affiliated with the left-leaning Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America–Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), which expressed support for Venezuela at an extraordinary summit last week.

Meanwhile, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit reiterated CARICOM’s long-standing stance that the Caribbean must remain a zone of peace, while cautioning against escalation.

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“Any military action in the Caribbean has serious negative impact on the way of life of every single citizen in the Caribbean and Latin America,” Skerrit told reporters. “We would urge caution, because any misunderstanding can flare up into something that none of us really want.”