The Government has acknowledged the legitimacy of Venezuela’s current administration, signalling a shift in its previously guarded position on the political crisis in Caracas.
Speaking at yesterday’s post-cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers provided the definitive confirmation.
“We recognise Delcy Rodriguez as the interim president of Venezuela,” Sobers stated.
The statement marks a departure from months of deflection by Government officials on the issue of recognition for Rodriguez.
Rodríguez assumed the role of interim President earlier this year, following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro by the US military in a transition that has since drawn varying levels of international recognition and scrutiny.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was first asked on October 2, upon her return to Trinidad and Tobago following a high-level meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whether she recognised Maduro. The question, posed at the VIP lounge of the Piarco International Airport, drew resistance from members of her Cabinet before she replied: “That question does not arise.”
A day later, when pressed again on whether she recognised Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president, the Prime Minister declined to engage.
Persad-Bissessar said, “That question does not arise with the greatest of respect. Dareece (Polo) asked me that last Wednesday night. The question does not arise. Can you ask me another one, please?” she insisted.
Even after Maduro was ousted on January 3, the Government maintained its silence regarding the ascension of Rodriguez to the leadership of her country.
When asked yesterday what had prompted the sudden change, Minister Sobers replied, “Well, it arose when you just asked.”
Notwithstanding the formal recognition, Sobers said tensions persist at the diplomatic level.
He admitted Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar remains designated as persona non grata by the Venezuelan Congress despite his administration’s plans to dispatch a high-level delegation to Caracas to secure T&T’s interests in lucrative cross-border gas fields.
“Currently, that is the position by the Venezuelan Congress. That is something that is also under discussion,” Sobers noted regarding the Prime Minister’s status.
Despite previous government’s insistencies that relations between the two neighbours were stable, Sobers admitted there is room for growth, stating that ties were “getting better day by day” and that “there can always be improvements on friendships.”
The minister could not provide a specific timeline for the delegation’s departure but indicated the mission would proceed “in short order,” supported by weekly communications with his Venezuelan counterparts.
