By-Raphael John-Lall & Kejan Haynes
Venezuela’s National Assembly has declared Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar “persona non grata,” as it continues to accuse her Government of supporting United States military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic. However, Persad-Bissessar has again dismissed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s comments as meaningless.
During a parliamentary session yesterday, lawmakers voted unanimously in favour of the motion under Article 111 of Venezuela’s constitution. Also, they endorsed Maduro’s decision to suspend all energy agreements with Trinidad and Tobago.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez described the move as “a matter of honour, dignity, morality, and respect,” and accused Persad-Bissessar of betraying regional solidarity. Holding up newspaper clippings featuring Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Rodríguez said, “It is a matter of honour, dignity, morality, expression, sovereignty, and Venezuelan independence to declare this woman, who crawls like a worm, persona non grata to this Republic, which is the cradle of liberators, which is the cradle of free men and women.”
Rodríguez also announced that Parliament unanimously supported Maduro’s suspension of the gas agreements with T&T on Monday.
“It is unacceptable to maintain an agreement that favours Trinidad and Tobago if Trinidad and Tobago has become an agent of aggression against Venezuela. We will not allow it,” he said.
He added, “Let’s see if you don’t need the gas from Venezuela, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Let’s see if it wasn’t generous, as it was that energy agreement signed between one of the largest gas reserves on the planet and a country that had completely exhausted its gas reserves. It’s the truth.”
He continued, “The only real hope that the people of Trinidad and Tobago had was to recover through this agreement the hydrocarbon trade, which is already at its lowest level. Let’s see if you need it or not.
“You should learn from your own history that this is the embrace of the devil, that this will lead to suffering and poverty for the Trinidadian people. If there is a country that has been generous with Trinidad and Tobago, that country is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”
He insisted, however, that Venezuela “loves the people of Trinidad and Tobago” and has consistently promoted diplomacy and peace within the Caribbean.
Another parliamentarian, María Iris Varela, a former Minister of Prisons who is a member of the Permanent Committee on Foreign Policy, questioned T&T’s “warlike stance” in the region.
Tensions have reached a peak with the docking of the USS Gravely warship in T&T on Sunday, and allegations from Venezuela that the US and T&T are plotting to invade Venezuela, a claim T&T’s Government has denied.
In an immediate response to the decision, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar described the move by the Venezuelan parliament as a “useless declaration.”
Guardian Media was told that this means Persad-Bissessar is now banned from entering Venezuela.
However, Persad-Bissessar told Guardian Media, “Venezuelans are fleeing Venezuela by the millions, so why would they think I would want to go there?”
The Prime Minister is also inquiring why the Maduro regime has not taken similar action against President Donald Trump.
“The warships engaged in the drug interdiction exercises are American property. Why isn’t Maduro and the rest of the Venezuelan government calling President Trump’s name? Why aren’t they making declarations of persona non grata against him? The answer is obvious. They should call President Trump’s name, he is the commander of those warships.”
She added that this is Venezuela’s pattern of attempting to “bully” their smaller neighbours while simultaneously “crying for peace with more powerful countries.”
The PM said her Government will continue with drug interdiction efforts against narco traffickers in international waters.
“Over ten thousand murders in the last twenty years, in addition to thousands of violent crimes being committed, cannot be chalked up to a gimmick public health emergency. It is a crisis that needs aggressive intervention,” she told Guardian Media.
(With reporting by
Akash Samaroo)