Former Prime Minister Stuart Young, a former Minister of Energy, is pressing the government on its sudden announcement of a diplomatic mission to Venezuela, demanding answers on whether it recognises Delcy Rodríguez and whether Prime Minister Kamla Persad‑Bissessar still treats her as persona non grata.
“Do you recognise her as the current acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela?” Young asked at a PNM media conference today. “We still can’t get an answer to that.”
He noted the government has spent years insulting Rodríguez and undermining relations with Trinidad and Tobago’s closest neighbour.
Young described the move as abrupt, accusing the administration of reversing its stance overnight.
“All of a sudden, Madam persona non grata wakes up and decides, ‘Oh, we need to get to Venezuela’, because we have been seeing for months now… you are destroying Trinidad,” he said.
He said previous negotiations on cross‑border gas projects had been hampered by “constant attack… and sabotage” from the government, including work securing 30‑year licences for Dragon and 20‑year licences for Coquina, along with unitisation agreements for Manatee.
“Those are the projects that you are now counting on — every single gas project coming internationally is what we did in the last 10 years,” he said.
Young also raised concerns about potential corruption in pipeline contracts and the awarding of work‑over contracts to “favoured friends”, warning that the government’s mismanagement threatens Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector, which he called “the lifeblood of Trinidad”.
