MSJ fears civil war in V'zuela, its impact on TT

MSJ political leader David Abdulah.
MSJ political leader David Abdulah.

MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah said the bold move by Venezuela’s opposition Juan Guaido to topple the President Nicholas Maduro regime would have an adverse effect on TT.

“What is shaping up in Venezuela is civil war which would create a huge problem for TT,” Abdulah said at a news conference at MSJ San Fernando headquarters on Tuesday.

“We have repeatedly said that the US together with right wing elements within Venezuela have been intent on regime change by any means. What is happening now is simply another dimension of that overall strategy.

"The MSJ opposes that.”

Guaido, head of the Venezuela’s National Assembly with the backing of the US, declared himself interim President in January, deepening the crisis in that country.

Abdulah said the US had no right to decide who should be the government of any country.

“That is up to the people of a country to decide and, the US, by trying to strangle Venezuela's economically, by using the strangulation of sanctions and blockade in order to create the conditions internally for civil unrest and protest is wrong."

He said the MSJ supported democracy and opposed regime change in that way.

“President Maduro was democratically elected and what Guaido is doing is going contrary to democracy even though he is supposedly doing it in the name of democracy.”

With the deepening crisis in Venezuela, TT has seen an influx of their citizens, many of whom have landed here illegally through TT’s porous borders. Among them, members of the notorious gang Evande. Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith has confirmed the gang's presence.

The TT government has rolled out a policy to register Venezuelans, allowing them an opportunity to live and work here for a year.

Only last week, dozens of Venezuelans fleeing the political and economic turmoil in their country met a watery end as the overloaded pirogue in which they were travelling capsized. The search is still on to recover bodies.

Abdulah fears the situation could only get worse as tensions continue to rise in Venezuela as Guaido announced the final phase of the operation to oust Maduro and urged Venezuelans to take to the streets.

“The MSJ warned about that earlier when we said what was shaping up in Venezuela was civil war. A civil war in Venezuela would create a huge problem here for us in TT apart from creating a huge problem in Venezuela.

“What is shaping up is civil wars. It’s not going to be nice, it’s not going to be good for anyone and we oppose it,” Abdulah said.

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