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Statements and Resolutions Caribbean CommunityThe Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, as well as Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on January 28 in New York to outline their position and discuss the ongoing socio-political situation in Venezuela. A statement issued after the talks clearly outlined their fear over the fallout from an external military intervention in the Venezuelan crisis. "The CARICOM delegation emphasized its commitment to the tenets of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter which calls on states to refrain from the threat or the use of force. CARICOM has been consistent in the critical importance it accords to the key principles of non-interference and non-intervention. CARICOM reaffirmed the view that there was an urgent need for meaningful dialogue leading to a peaceful internal solution for the Venezuelan people. The Caribbean Community is resolute in its belief that it is never too late for dialogue since the consequences of no dialogue will be dire," a joint statement issued by the body said. The statement also emphasized "the importance of the Caribbean remaining a Zone of Peace," an idea first coined by Maurice Bishop, who came to power in Grenada in a revolution that toppled the government of Eric Gairy in 1979 and was later killed in a bloody invasion of the country by the United States. "We join with our sister Caribbean nations in re-emphasizing our determination to preserve the Caribbean as a zone of peace, free from military intimidation. We demand the right to build our own processes in our own way, free from outside interference, free from bullying and free from the use or threat of force," the statement said. The Caribbean's long-held position of "non-intervention and non-interference" has often been reiterated by many of its leaders over the last few decades. If its governments intend to stand by those principles, avoiding the overtures of the world's declining superpower to support their position, it can play an important role in charting a way forward for the hemisphere. The continued destabilization of Venezuela would create chaos and economic, military and social problems many territories are ill-equipped to manage, CARICOM leaders point out. In related news, several Caribbean leaders decried the Trump administration's declarations of support for the person who proclaimed himself Venezuela’s “interim president,” with Saint Vincent's Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves branding it a "coup d' état" while speaking to the Miami Herald and Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Gaston Browne calling it "brazen regime change." "The majority of countries that are in CARICOM do not accept Juan Guaidó as the interim president," Browne said. "In fact, we believe that it is an extremely dangerous precedent... which has absolutely no basis in law, it has no constitutional backing, it has no support of international law, and it's really an affront to democracy within the hemisphere." Browne also warned the Caribbean should be careful not to be drawn into the ideological war unfolding in Venezuela with the goal of merely removing Maduro from office. "These people are fighting an ideological war. They believe that socialism in Venezuela would plunge the people into poverty and so on. They want to get rid of these socialist regimes. Okay fine, they can fight their ideological wars, but we have to deal with the practicality and the effects [on the region]," Browne said. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley had strong words for U.S. officials, who have attempted to force CARICOM members into changing their position on the conflict. Rowley sent a clear message to the U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Joseph Mondello, who had said Trinidad and Tobago's continued recognition of the Maduro administration was "deeply concerning." "We in Trinidad and Tobago under all of our
governments, we have preserved the sovereign position of the
people of
Trinidad and Tobago," he added. "Until there is a change of
government
in Venezuela, as Mr. Patrick Manning said, when you pick up the
phone,
[whoever] answers the phone [is] in charge of Venezuela. What
they are
asking us to do is to take sides largely contrived by external
forces.
If you are going to have a change of regime in today's world
post-World
War Two and you want to do it properly, you're required to go
through
the
UN and sanction it. Trinidad and Tobago will not be invited to
take any
interest that would damage our relations with neighbours." (With files from TeleSUR)
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