Maduro classified the joint maneuvers between Washington and Port of Spain as a ‘threat’ to Venezuelan security
A announced this Monday (27) the suspension of the energy agreement it had with Trinidad and Tobago, a few hours after the island country received a warship from the for military exercises in the Caribbean. The agreement, in force since 2015, provided for cooperation in the gas sector between the two nations. The decision was confirmed by the vice-president and minister of Hydrocarbons, Delcy Rodríguez, who stated that she had recommended the breakup to President Nicolás Maduro with the state-owned PDVSA.
Maduro classified the joint maneuvers between Washington and Port of Spain as a “threat” to Venezuelan security. “I approved the precautionary measure of immediate suspension of all effects of the energy agreement. Everything is suspended!”, declared the president during his weekly television program. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, reacted to the decision by stating that the country “is not subject to political blackmail”. In a message, she declared: “Our future does not depend on Venezuela and never has.”
Bilateral relations had been deteriorating since Persad-Bissessar took office with a speech aligned with the United States and critical of Venezuelan immigration. Recently, Trinidad and Tobago obtained authorization from Washington to explore a gas field in Venezuelan territory, close to the border between the countries — which angered Caracas. Rodríguez accused the prime minister of “adhering to the warmongering plans of the United States” and of transforming the Trinidadian territory into an “American military colony”.
The destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107), which participates in US anti-drug operations in the Caribbean, will remain in Trinidad and Tobago until October 30. According to the Venezuelan government, the country had dismantled a “criminal cell” linked to the CIA that was planning a false flag attack against the ship, with the aim of blaming Caracas. US military operations in the region have already killed at least 43 people in ten attacks on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
*With information from AFP
