Venezuela accused the Caribbean government of Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) of being a contributor to last week’s incident involving the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coastline. This comes amidst Donald Trump’s 4-month pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro that continues to reverberate across the region.
In a statement on Monday, 15 December, the Maduro regime accused Trinidad & Tobago of participating in the ‘theft of Venezuelan oil’, committed by the U.S. administration on 10 December on a vessel transporting Venezuelan crude oil.
Reports indicate that U.S. forces intercepted the Skipper tanker near the Venezuelan coast. The Skipper was believed to be transporting nearly 2 million barrels of Venezuela’s heavy crude. This act was condemned by the Maduro government, which described it as piracy, a serious violation of international law, and a blatant breach of the principles of free navigation and trade.
Earlier on Monday, 15 December, the government of Trinidad & Tobago had announced it would permit the U.S. military to access its airports in the coming weeks following the recent installation of a radar system. The Caribbean nation said that the radar was being used to combat local crime and would not serve as a launchpad for attacks on any other country.
The Venezuelan statement, posted on Telegram in the name of the vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, accused the T&T prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, of turning the Caribbean nation into an aircraft carrier of the American empire against Venezuela, also termed as ‘an act of vassalage’.
The Maduro regime announced the immediate termination of any ‘agreement, contract or negotiation’ on natural gas supply between the two countries, without specifying the role that Trinidad and Tobago was alleged to have played in the oil tanker seizure.
2 months ago in October, the U.S. permitted T&T to negotiate a gas deal with Venezuela. This is without Venezuela facing U.S. sanctions. The two countries have long discussed developing the Dragon Field in Venezuelan waters near Tobago, which is estimated to hold 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.
