Kamla: PM must explain blacklist notice

THE OPPOSITION Leader wants the Prime Minister to explain why the US Embassy sent Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister a US government "blacklist" of all nations, companies and people currently under its sanctions in Venezuela.

In a statement on Saturday, Kamla Persad-Bissessar posed this question to Dr Rowley as she continued to question the reason for the visit of Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez to TT in March.

She said Rodriguez and officials from Venezuelan energy company PDVSA, who accompanied her to TT then, are on that list.

Persad-Bissessar acknowledged that the US has always been TT's greatest, most valuable and beneficial trade and national security global ally. She said she is not advocating that TT take sides within any bilateral dispute among other nations.

But she was among those who recognised Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela in 2018.

"In maintaining our neutrality, we must also ensure that we respect all international treaties and arrangements we have signed with our global allies."

She said that in 2015, Maduro was "legally elected by the Venezuelan people and his presidency was not in any dispute." Today, Persad-Bissessar said since Venezuela’s general elections in 2018, Maduro "is no longer considered to be Venezuela’s legitimate president by more than 50 countries globally." Persad-Bissessar said her comments then did not endanger TT-US relations but "kept up the trend then of all my prime ministerial predecessors" to preserve the best interests of TT's citizens.

Persad-Bissessar said this neutral stance has been threatened by reports about the sale of fuel from TT to Aruba ending up in Venezuela."

Saying the blacklist to the Government is something that Rowley "must treat with respectfully and strategically," Persad-Bissessar claimed Government's actions "have caused a US investigation into this country for violating its sanctions against Venezuela, and the Rio Treaty."

She urged Rowley to " immediately make amends" to protect the economic interests of TT's citizens, refrain from any action that could breach any international treaty with the US and treat with the US with due respect and mutual, shared friendliness."

In the House of Representatives on Friday, Rowley repeated that the meeting with Rodriguez was to discuss a national security matter related to covid19.