Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday announced the immediate suspension of all energy cooperation agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, including joint natural gas ventures, in a sharp escalation of regional tensions tied to U.S. influence in the Caribbean.
In a televised address, Maduro said the country’s oil ministry and state-owned energy company PDVSA had proposed halting cooperation with Trinidad, a move he personally approved.
“I have approved the measure,” Maduro declared, adding that Venezuela’s National Assembly and Supreme Court would review the decision for further recommendations.
The suspension threatens to derail years of collaborative energy projects, most notably the long-delayed Dragon natural gas field, a 4.2-trillion-cubic-foot reserve located in Venezuelan waters near Trinidad.
The field had been seen as a vital source of gas for Trinidad’s struggling energy sector.
Maduro accused Trinidad’s new Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who took office on May 1, of aligning too closely with Washington.
“She has threatened to turn Trinidad and Tobago into the U.S. empire’s aircraft carrier against Venezuela,” he claimed, referencing a recent U.S. warship docking in Port of Spain and the deployment of an American aircraft carrier group to Latin America last week.
The Venezuelan leader said Persad-Bissessar’s “pro-U.S. posture” marked a sharp departure from former Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who had pursued energy diplomacy with Caracas despite U.S. sanctions.
Under Rowley, Trinidad worked with Shell and the National Gas Company of Trinidad (NGC) to advance the Dragon project after receiving limited U.S. sanctions waivers.
Earlier this month, Shell (SHEL.L) and NGC obtained a renewed U.S. license for the project, but Persad-Bissessar downplayed its importance, telling Newsday that “Trinidad and Tobago does not need Venezuela’s gas” and that her government would “grow the economy both within and beyond the energy sector.”
It remains unclear how the suspension will affect Shell’s Manatee gas project, which straddles the maritime border between the two nations but had been cleared by Caracas to proceed independently on Trinidad’s side.
Analysts say that project could also be at risk if tensions continue to rise.
The suspension marks a major setback for both nations’ energy ambitions and underscores the growing geopolitical rift in the Caribbean, where U.S.-Venezuela relations remain deeply strained.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
