Caracas.– The Venezuelan government announced this Monday that it extinguished “immediately” any “agreement, contract or negotiation” to supply natural gas to Trinidad and Tobago, amid growing tensions over the US air and naval deployment in the Caribbean.
In a statement released on Telegram by the Executive Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons, Delcy Rodríguez, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago was accused of having “participation” in what was described as the “theft of Venezuelan oil”, following the seizure, on December 10, of a ship sailing under a false flag and transporting crude oil from the South American country.
“This act of piracy constitutes a serious violation of international law and a blatant transgression of the principles of free navigation and trade,” he affirmed.
In this regard, Venezuela accused Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of revealing “a hostile agenda” against the South American country and accused her of turning her territory into an “American aircraft carrier to attack Venezuela”, which it described as “vassalage”.
The note also recalled that President Nicolás Maduro had denounced, on October 27, the Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation between both countries, “in the face of the escalation of hostilities and serious aggressions.”
The seizure of an oil tanker
Last Tuesday, the United States intercepted the oil tanker Skipper, which was sailing under a false flag off the coast of Venezuela, in a joint operation by the Department of War with the U.S. Coast Guard.
The ship was seized by order of a judge from the North American country due to its previous links to the smuggling of Iranian oil, sanctioned by Washington, but on this occasion it was transporting 1.9 million barrels of crude oil from the state-owned Pdvsa, according to the Venezuelan government, which did not specify the country of destination.
The Venezuelan government described the seizure as a “blatant robbery.”
Persad-Bissessar assumed power last May, when she expressed her willingness not to deepen energy relations with Venezuela.
The prime minister was declared a ‘persona non grata’ in October by the Venezuelan National Assembly (Parliament), for what it considers a ‘warmongering stance’ by allowing the United States to conduct military exercises on the island.
Last September, the United States and Trinidad and Tobago reaffirmed joint measures to ensure that the natural gas produced in the Caribbean “does not significantly benefit” the Government of Venezuela.
This occurs in the midst of the naval deployment that the North American country has been accumulating in the Caribbean since August and which, it claims, aims to combat drug trafficking, but which Caracas considers an attempt to bring about a regime change.
The Trinidadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the US presence aims to combat transnational crime and denied that the military exercises were intended to provoke hostilities against Venezuela. Categories: Economy. Tags: Energy, Gases, Government, Venezuela.
