Enill: Caricom could not act differently

TT and the Caricom region could not have acted differently regarding the unfolding situation in Venezuela says former Energy minister Conrad Enill.

In a phone interview yesterday, Enill, asked whether Caricom could have acted differently, given that global superpowers which included the US, Russia and China had taken opposing sides in the matter. The US is supporting Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, while both Russia and China has voiced support for sitting President Nicolas Maduro. “No I don’t think there is anything that you could do differently. I think the matter has to be resolved at the level it has to be resolved and whenever it is resolved then you go and negotiate for your country on the basis of what has been settled.”

On the US sanctions against Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and whether they may affect TT, he said that would depend on whether there were changes in the company’s operations.

“Anything we are doing with PDVSA would be subject to the new arrangements. For example, if the company changed ownership but its operations continued as normal, then that is not an issue, because it means the contractual obligations will be in place.

“But if, on the other hand, (because of a) change in the leadership, you have different arrangements, then we can be affected.

Enill said it would take time “to see how the commercial arrangements will flow, where the commercial arrangements will be affected by the change.”

He said the Dragon gas deal is a government-to-government arrangement and would depend on whoever is in power in the South American country.

“I think that is a separate issue, because those are major issues between governments, because the question is, would the government honour (it) – whoever the government is – and I think that would be subject to how the thing flows. I suspect it is a little too early to make those kinds of predictions.”