Copyright trinidadexpress
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar does not plan to bow to any pressure from Venezuela as she stressed that Trinidad and Tobago will not be blackmailed and is not dependent on any Venezuelan gas. She declared that no one – be it the Venezuelan government, the People’s National Movement (PNM), Caricom, or any other entity – will “pressure or blackmail” her Government into retreating from the fight against the drug cartels. In response to questions from the Express yesterday, the Prime Minister shrugged off Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez’s proposal to be made by the board of the Venezuelan state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) for President Nicolás Maduro to suspend all gas agreements with T&T. Persad-Bissessar said reports of Venezuela’s proposed gas suspension with T&T are not a cause for any grave concern. “Our future does not depend on Venezuela and never has. We have our plans and projects to grow our economy both within the energy and non-energy sectors,” she said. The Prime Minister criticised the former PNM administration for focusing solely on energy ties with Venezuela. “The last PNM government mistakenly placed all their hopes in the Dragon project. We have not done so; therefore, we are not susceptible to any blackmail from the Venezuelans for political support,” she said. What tension? Persad-Bissessar further dismissed calls for dialogue as she reiterated there is no tension. “There are no tensions. We continue to maintain peaceful relations with the Venezuelan people,” she said. The arrival of the United States warship, the USS Gravely, on Sunday in Port of Spain triggered a statement from the Venezuelan Government that T&T is in cahoots with the US to wage war on Venezuela. It further claimed that Venezuela had captured a mercenary group with information from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). There have been no reports of this from official US sources. The Prime Minister reiterated the position taken by the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs in its statement on Sunday in response to these claims, saying that the visit of the US warship aims to bolster the fight against transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian activities, and security cooperation. Persad-Bissessar emphasised again that this country has been severely impacted by transnational crime, evident in the record murder rates and trafficking through the borders, which the former government failed to address. “NO ONE, be it the Venezuelan government, the PNM, Caricom or any other entity, will pressure or blackmail my government into retreating from the fight against the drug cartels,” she said. “I am tired of seeing our citizens murdered and terrorised because of gang violence driven by illegal drugs and arms trafficking. Trinidad and Tobago citizens’ safety and happiness is my main concern,” she added.
