St Vincent PM urges peace and calm between T&T, Venezuela
St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has urged both Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela to exercise restraint and resolve their differences peacefully and in line with international law, the Trinidad Guardian reports.
“All I would like to do is to urge both neighbours to continue to act peacefully in accordance with international law,” Gonsalves said in an interview with Guardian Media yesterday.
He warned against inflaming the situation with strong language. “As far as practicable, we do not incline the situation with any excessive rhetoric. We just take our patience into account. And whatever is the problem, we solve them maturely between two neighbours.”
Tensions between T&T and Venezuela escalated last week after Venezuelan Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello alleged on his programme Con El Mazo Dando, that a Trinidadian by the name of “Guis Kendell Jerome” – had been captured en route to Venezuela with a group labelled “terrorists” in an attempt to destabilise their government.
Senior police officials in this country have since confirmed that the person named by Cabello had not appeared in T&T’s criminal database.
During last Thursday’s post-Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar added to the issue as she delivered a warning to Venezuela that T&T was off-limits.
She revealed that the T&T Coast Guard (TTCG) would have been placed on alert to use deadly force if any vessel from Venezuela sought to access local waters illegally.
Contacted on the issue yesterday, the St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister was asked whether Caricom should intervene in the developing tension, he replied, “Maybe not, maybe not as yet, but that’s why I’m urging peace and calm.”
Gonsalves reaffirmed Caricom’s and the region’s broader commitment to peace. “That would be what my own broad position would do as someone who supports very much—and we all do, and Caricom does, and so too does Venezuela—we support our region as a region of peace. We want to see good neighbourliness.”
He cautioned against drawing in outside forces. “If there is any challenge which arises, we should not interfere in the internal affairs of any other state. We should not bring any foreign power into this particular matter. This is a matter which we have to be careful that is not blown out of proportions.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander said while this country remains on high alert, communication was key.
Efforts to contact Defence Minster Wayne Sturge yesterday on Saturday’s meeting with national security and law enforcement officials to discuss allegations of a local link to destabilise Venezuela were unsuccessful.
Alexander directed all questions to Sturge yesterday, but would only say that local law enforcement agencies had been placed on high alert.
