Venezuela's Maduro cuts gas ties with Trinidad over US counter-narcotics mission: Video
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday the immediate suspension of all gas agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, following the arrival of a US Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Caribbean to conduct military exercises as part of Washington’s counter-narcotics operations.
The statement was broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
Maduro said Trinidad and Tobago had “exhausted all its gas reserves and run out of gas,” noting that Venezuela had maintained the energy pact as a “Bolivarian gesture of brotherhood and solidarity.” However, he accused Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of turning her country into “the aircraft carrier of the US empire” against Venezuela and South America.
“In light of the Prime Minister’s threat to turn Trinidad and Tobago into the aircraft carrier of the US empire against Venezuela, there is only one alternative,” Maduro declared. “I have approved the precautionary measure of the immediate suspension of all effects of the energy agreement and all that was agreed upon in this matter.”
The Venezuelan president further alleged that the military exercises taking place in Trinidad and Tobago from October 26 to 30 aimed to generate an armed conflict under the direct financing and control of the Pentagon. “The government of Trinidad and Tobago has already been given the evidence. We give no evidence to the government of the United States because they, along with the CIA, are behind all these things,” he said.
Maduro’s decision marks another escalation in tensions between Venezuela, Washington, and its Caribbean neighbours, amid continuing US sanctions and diplomatic isolation. The gas agreement between Caracas and Port of Spain had been seen as a rare instance of regional cooperation in recent years, aimed at easing energy shortages across the Caribbean.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
