Senior Reporter
Despite a year of diplomatic fallout between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, including being declared persona non grata in Caracas, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar appears ready to turn a new page with acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez.
Asked yesterday whether she had a message for Rodríguez, Persad-Bissessar replied: “I love her. I look forward to meeting her.”
That meeting could take place before the end of the month, with the Prime Minister revealing that plans are being made for the two leaders to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
“I think there is a plan that we will both meet at the end of September. September 25 … There is a plan. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll let you know. But that is a plan. Minister Sobers is working on it,” Persad-Bissessar said after attending the ceremony marking the opening of the new law term at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain.
The warm remarks mark a significant shift following a period of strained relations between the neighbouring countries.
Last year, Venezuela’s National Assembly declared Persad-Bissessar persona non grata amid accusations that Trinidad and Tobago was supporting United States military aggression against Venezuela.
At the height of the dispute, Rodríguez launched a scathing attack on Persad-Bissessar, describing her as a woman “who crawls like a worm.”
Persad-Bissessar responded by dismissing the declaration as “useless” and accused Venezuelan authorities of attempting to bully smaller neighbouring states.
Tensions also extended to energy matters, with the Prime Minister maintaining at the time that Trinidad and Tobago’s future did not depend on Venezuela and that her Government would not succumb to what she described as “blackmail from the Venezuelans for political support.”
In April this year, Rodríguez met with several regional leaders, including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell. She also held talks with former T&T prime minister Stuart Young.
As those engagements fuelled speculation that T&T was being sidelined, Persad-Bissessar said she was not concerned that the country was being deliberately excluded.
However, relations appear to have improved following a recent visit to Venezuela by Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers.
Responding to questions about the trip, Persad-Bissessar described the visit as a success.
“Minister Sobers did very well. He was very successful in his visit … Whatever has to be done, we will do in the best interest of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela … Expect the best, more to come,” she said.
The Prime Minister also expressed confidence that Venezuelan natural gas would begin flowing to Trinidad and Tobago within a year.
“I have absolutely no doubt that gas from Venezuela will come to Trinidad and Tobago. It is the only funnel, the only place it can pass. We are seven miles away and it will come. We have already signed agreements with BP. We hope to conclude agreements with Shell, XRG and many other companies. I have absolutely no doubt that in the next year we would see natural gas coming to Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar added that the ties between the two countries extend beyond diplomacy and energy, citing her personal family connections to Venezuela.
“You may not know, my mother-in-law is Venezuelan. My two grand-nephews are Venezuelan. Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have very, very close ties,” she said.
Commenting on the issue yesterday, political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said the Prime Minister’s latest position reflects a willingness to place national interests above past tensions and to continue engagement efforts initiated under the previous administration.
“I would not say hypocrisy. I would say simply a necessary step in terms of how we go forward … In her mind, she’s doing what she has to do and that’s what’s important,” Ragoonath said.
He added that while tensions may still exist between the two leaders, Persad-Bissessar could potentially leverage her relationship with the United States to seek a reversal of her persona non grata status, although it remains uncertain whether that will occur.
Young questions PM’s ‘love’
Former prime minister and former energy minister Stuart Young is questioning whether Venezuelan acting President Rodríguez shares Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar’s sentiments.
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Young also criticised the Prime Minister’s treatment of Trinidad and Tobago citizens.
“Ask the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago how Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s love is working out for them,” he said. “Increased fines, loss of jobs, no book grants, states of emergency and PDOs, no CDAP drugs, public servants’ 10 per cent not received yet, increased electricity rates and LPG prices, and the shutting down of energy companies and small and medium-sized businesses. That is Kamla’s style of love.”
He added, “You should ask President Delcy Rodríguez, who was the subject of Kamla’s verbal attacks and degradation from 2018 up to a couple of months ago, if she loves Kamla.”
