CARICOM headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana. File photo.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) agreed on Tuesday, July 5, to demand that the United States government eliminate unilateral coercive measures (euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”) against Venezuela to allow Caribbean countries to receive supplies via PetroCaribe.
This was demanded in a statement made public at the close of the 43rd regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of CARICOM, which was held from Sunday to Tuesday in Suriname.
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The document also indicates that, with the lifting of the sanctions, Caribbean nations seek to be able to advance in the utilization of regional natural resources, including the gas fields between Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, highlighted the detrimental effects of the unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela in relation to the Petrocaribe program.
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“The unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States administration during the time of President Donald Trump in relation to Venezuela effectively ended the Petrocaribe agreement,” said Gonsalves. “This agreement provided important financial benefits to the participating countries.”
He also underlined the impact that the measure has caused in “several Caribbean countries, including the independent countries of the OAS (Organization of American States), and other countries within CARICOM.”
CARICOM is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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