Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Photo: Prior Beharry/AFP.
The National Assembly of Venezuela unanimously declared Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar persona non grata for her alleged participation in a criminal conspiracy with US foreign troops to attack Venezuela.
“The honorable deputies who are in favor of the proposal, please express it with the customary sign… It is approved unanimously, and this lady is declared unwelcome,” said parliamentary president Jorge RodrĂguez GĂłmez after Tuesday’s session. “In addition, support is unanimous for the denunciation made yesterday by constitutional President Nicolás Maduro Moros of the energy agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela!”
Project presented
Deputy Iris Varela presented the draft agreement in accordance with Article 111 of the Internal Regulations and Debates of the National Assembly.
Before reading the approved text—which contained six key points—Varela said it was “incredible that, following the murders of Trinidadian fishermen in Caribbean waters by US military forces, the island’s authorities open the doors of their country to the same criminal US foreign troops.”
The parliamentarian denounced alleged joint military exercises between the US and Trinidad and Tobago just kilometers off Venezuela’s coast as a direct threat to the peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Venezuelan people.
In the debate, opposition representative Luis Brito said it was unacceptable that the prime minister would allow a foreign army to mount what he described as a veiled threat of invasion against Venezuela. He called Persad-Bissessar a traitor, a warmonger and disloyal.
Agreement
The declaration states that the prime minister is unwelcome for her role in a systematic plan against peace in Venezuela and strongly condemns her stance, which it describes as “open incitement to violence in the Caribbean region” and incompatible with the region’s status as a zone of peace.
It further supports all measures adopted by the Venezuelan government to denounce and suspend or annul all energy agreements signed with Trinidad and Tobago in response to what it calls the island nation’s “cowardly and submissive behavior” in kneeling before a foreign army to attack Venezuela and other Caribbean countries.
The agreement calls for opening diplomatic channels to urge the Trinidadian government to distance itself from threats and violence in the Caribbean, in hopes of preserving bilateral relations.
Finally, it urges Venezuela to denounce before national and international bodies the serious threat posed by the US in the Caribbean—a threat that, according to the text, violates sovereignty, international law and the UN Charter.
Deportations
Trinidad and Tobago ordered the deportation of at least 200 Venezuelan migrants Monday, amid the US military deployment near the maritime border separating the Caribbean island from Venezuela and as part of its anti-Venezuela stance, which analysts describe as xenophobic.
According to local media, the order was given directly by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar under the auspices of Washington, with whom provocative military exercises are being held this week amid unprecedented regional tensions due to US threats of military action against Venezuela under the pretext of the war on drugs.
The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian reported that the measure was published in a memorandum signed Monday, Oct. 27, by Permanent Secretary of National Security Videsh Maharaj. The memorandum instructs that Venezuelan nationals detained by authorities be taken to a detention center before deportation.
Many are questioning how these deportations will be coordinated, given the Trinidadian government’s subservient and pro-US policy, which has strained relations with Venezuela.
(Diario VEA) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH