Editorial
Newsday
BACK in February 2015, Kamla Persad-Bissessar was warmly welcoming Nicolas Maduro to this country, hosting the Venezuelan leader at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, for energy talks.
But ten years later, on June 5, Ms Persad-Bissessar was issuing a severe warning to our closest neighbour, saying, “They can do whatever they want on Venezuelan territory. But they cannot come here.”
The PM was responding at the post-cabinet press briefing to Venezuelan claims – for which there is no evidence, according to the TT government – that armed “terrorists,” backed by the US, had entered Venezuela via Trinidad and Tobago.
“They made similar propaganda comments about Guyana and Colombia,” Ms Persad-Bissessar said. “We have to take this threat seriously.” Lethal force, she added, would be used at our border in the event of any military incursion.
Shattering decades of cordial diplomatic relations are these rapid-fire developments.
On June 6, Venezuela expressed “profound surprise” at the PM’s statements. But if so, that country has not been paying attention.
Ms Persad-Bissessar soured on Maduro since the 2018 presidential elections – widely seen as a sham poll. In 2019, she backed Juan Guaido. In 2023, when the Essequibo conflict with Guyana escalated, she said to Maduro, “You touch one, you touch all.”
The possibility of Venezuela launching a false flag operation against this country has always existed in the wake of that close-to-home border dispute.
However, a Caricom intervention, the prospect of the Dragon gas deal, as well as the understanding that countries like the US would not tolerate military action made such notions seem fanciful and remote.
Not anymore.
Donald Trump is in the White House. The global order is in disarray. The Maduro regime is poised to take advantage.
Mr Trump has tanked Dragon. His dealings with Ukraine suggest he does not value sovereignty. He abruptly banned people from several countries, including Venezuela, this week.
“We stand solidly with the American government,” Ms Persad-Bissessar declared on Thursday.
But the issue is whether the US stands with any country.
In its communique of June 6, Venezuela further seized on the PM’s warning, saying it raised “serious suspicions of complicity.”
However, this suggests it has fallen short of actual proof of such. It claims to have custody of “compelling evidence” of Trinidadian criminals’ plans, without immediately providing details.
Venezuela’s allies include Russia, Iran and China. It has a military force believed to be in the hundreds of thousands.
Little TT cannot manage its borders effectively, far less fight incursions from hostile actors. The UNC has long lamented the state of the naval fleet.
To survive this impasse intact, we must prioritise diplomacy.
And all actions, including the treatment of Venezuelans locally, should be based on evidence, not shadows, rhetoric and xenophobic paranoia.
