Venezuelan ambassador: Region stands united for peace, sovereignty

IN line with the international Bring Them Back campaign calling for the immediate release of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, the Venezuelan ambassador to TT, Alvaro Sanchez Cordero, says the Caribbean stands together against external threats and for lasting peace.

A media statement from Cordero on January 20 said as part of actions to denounce and condemn the US attacks against Venezuela, political and civil organisations, jurists, and solidarity movements from several countries held a meeting on the night of January 19.

The representatives focused their efforts on defending the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

Countries represented at the meeting included TT and Venezuela. The other countries were Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Suriname, Palestine (from the Gaza Strip), "among other regions of the world."

This event, titled the First Regional Conference: The Voices of the Caribbean in Defense of Venezuela and International Law, featured the participation of more than 180 political and social actors from the countries.

According to the ambassador, the representatives shared proposals and analysis of the different threats that put the region at risk, especially in light of the January 3 deadly military operation that resulted in the "kidnapping" of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

"The meeting served to articulate proposals and actions between social and solidarity movements of the Caribbean, unifying criteria in the face of external threats that seek to destabilise the region," Cordero said.

"The main purpose was to promote regional cohesion and the defence of peace through public positions from each of the nations in the region."

He added that each of the "illustrious interventions" coincided with the need to build an international solidarity network to defend the sovereignty of nations and to implement an action plan to influence the reformulation of each country's foreign policy.

"Participants spoke out in unison to denounce the warlike actions of January 3 carried out by the government of Donald Trump, leading to the death of more than 100 people and the unlawful kidnapping of the constitutional president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro Moros and the First Lady Cilia Flores.

"This conference is part of a series of co-ordinated activities that include presentations by experts in international law, talks, and sessions of analysis."

The statement added that through this work plan, the aim will be to generate legal instruments and spaces for thoughtful discussions that ensure the unity and integrity of the entire Caribbean.

After Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces in Caracas, they were taken to the US, where on January 5, they made their first court appearance before a court in New York.

Both pleaded not guilty to narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges and are expected to reappear in court on March 17.

On the same day of the couple's court appearance, Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president.

Voices from within Venezuela and the US and beyond have continued to express mixed views, some backing the US intervention and others condemning it as a violation of international laws.