PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government and the prominent opposition People’s National Movement (PNM), on Monday, gave contrasting responses to a statement by Venezuela that it may suspend the Energy Cooperation Framework Agreement with this country.
Venezuela’s Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, speaking on the state-owned television on Monday, said a formal proposal has already been submitted to President Nicolas Maduro to end the agreement with Port of Spain.
She said the proposal was being made by the board of the Venezuelan State-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), to President Maduro.
We propose to President Nicolas Maduro the denunciation of the Energy Cooperation Framework Agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Consequently, we request that all bilateral gas agreements be suspended,” she told television viewers.
“We have just concluded a meeting of the leadership of the Ministry of Popular Power for Petroleum — all vice ministers present — together with the Board of Directors of PDVSA, accompanied by its president, vice presidents, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, who is also a member of this board.”
“The leadership of both the Ministry and PDVSA has decided to propose to President Nicolás Maduro the immediate denunciation of the Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation between the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, signed in 2015 for ten years and automatically renewed this February for another five. Article 13, paragraph 3, gives either party the authority to terminate it,” Rodriguez said.
“This agreement covered broad areas of energy cooperation — joint gas field development, infrastructure projects, hydrocarbon initiatives, and monetization of shared resources. It is a comprehensive framework, but we are now responsibly proposing that the President terminate it immediately. As a result, all gas agreements between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago will be suspended.”
Caracas has accused Port of Spain of supporting the ramped-up United States military presence in the Caribbean Sea, ostensibly as part of Washington’s effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels. But observers say it is a pretext to overthrow the Maduro regime.
The United States military has carried out deadly air strikes in Caribbean waters over the past few weeks against what Washington alleges are Caracas-backed drug traffickers. The Venezuelan government denies the charge, accusing the administration of being a threat to the peace and security of the whole region.
In her response to the Venezuelan threat to suspend the energy agreement, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said her administration, which came to office following the April 28 general election, will continue to pursue its own energy and economic strategies.
“Our future does not depend on Venezuela and never has. We have our plans and projects to grow our economy both within the energy and non-energy sectors,” she told the Guardian Media Limited.
She said that Port of Spain will continue to maintain cordial relations with Venezuela, stating, “We continue to maintain peaceful relations with the Venezuelan people,” underscoring her government’s commitment to diplomacy and regional stability.
“The last PNM government mistakenly placed all their hopes in the Dragon project – we have not done so. Therefore, we are not susceptible to any blackmail from the Venezuelans for political support. We continue to maintain peaceful relations with the Venezuelan people.”
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the main opposition PNM, which had been pursuing the energy deal with Caracas over the last nine and a half years while it was in office.
“The last PNM government mistakenly placed all its hopes in the Dragon project. We have not done so; therefore, we are not susceptible to any blackmail from the Venezuelans for political support,” she said.
But in a statement, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles said that the announcement by the Venezuelan vice president “ is alarming, unfortunate, and deeply concerning.
“This development presents a complex and delicate challenge, requiring a measured and thoughtful response. The PNM has long prided itself on being careful and diligent in pursuing economic stability and growth for our nation.
“Yet, this latest twist is both alarming and consequential and rests squarely at the feet of the sitting Government of Trinidad and Tobago,” Beckles said, adding the “pressing question that now arises is what lies ahead for Trinidad and Tobago in this period of uncertainty”.
The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce says it is disappointed at the Venezuelan decision, noting that the accord specifically stated that “no provision of the agreement will affect the sovereign rights of the two nations over their respective territories, maritime zones and other geographical spaces under their sovereignty and jurisdiction”.
It said that while it respects Venezuela’s decision in this regard, the underlying purpose of the agreement — jointly developing shared or adjacent gas deposits, cooperating on infrastructure such as pipelines and processing in Trinidad, and monetizing Venezuelan offshore gas through Trinidad’s downstream sector — remains economically sound and beneficial to both nations.
“We hope that a return to the rationale for the genesis of this agreement can be rekindled and that the spirit and hope that was fostered through this agreement can somehow survive through the willingness of all parties,” the private sector group said.
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