Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Stuart Young has confirmed that the government of Trinidad and Tobago currently recognises Nicolas Maduro as the president of Venezuela.
This is according to a report from CNC3 in Trinidad and Tobago. Young is said to have made the announcement during a post-Cabinet news conference on Thursday.
He reportedly said that Trinidad and Tobago “respects the sovereignty of Venezuela and has no intention of intervening.”
“I have come here today to reiterate government’s position. This has been the government’s position from day one. The government’s position when it comes to matters of foreign policy, is we will not intervene nor will we interfere with what is going on with sovereign states,” Young is quoted as saying.
While noting that it is for the people of Venezuela to decide at the end of the day, the government of Trinidad and Tobago is encouraging dialogue. “We also call for calm for whatever it is worth. We hope that they can work things out via dialogue,” Young reportedly stated.
The report called Venezuela Trinidad and Tobago’s closest neighbour, being just seven miles from the shores of Trinidad. The twin island Republic’s Foreign Minister Dennis Moses was one of the few Caricom officials present at Nicolas Maduro’s swearing-in some weeks ago, even though the Venezuelan election which took place in May and which was boycotted by the opposition, was condemned worldwide.
The report said that “the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France and several South American countries have either expressed support for Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó who declared himself as President of Venezuela on Wednesday or have denounced Maduro’s leadership as illegal.”
It said too that Russia, China, Cuba and Turkey are among the countries supporting Maduro, and they have been describing what is taking place in Venezuela as a US-led coup.
