Throughout the 20th Century, the US operated largely as a hegemonic force in the western hemisphere. From 1959, Cuba, and its relationship with the then Soviet Union, presented a challenge to the US.
Central to the geopolitics of the western hemisphere in the 21st century, is Venezuela. That country’s increasing movement away from the US, since the rise to power of Hugo Chavez, now deceased, its deepening friendship with Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia on ideological grounds, and its increasing cosiness with China, Russia, Iran and Turkey, have made Venezuela a source of increasing worry to the United States.
Venezuela was not invited to the last Summit of the Americas and the US backed a resolution at the Organization of American States shortly after the 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, that called on the Venezuelan Election Commission to provide the tally sheets for the election results in Venezuela; but enough OAS votes could not be summoned. At the Summit of the Americas, the hemisphere was also divided. Several heads of state did not attend the summit because Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were left out. So, tensions on these matters do exist in the hemisphere.
China, meanwhile, has been strengthening its friendships with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and has been building bridges with countries across the hemisphere. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited T&T in 2012, one year after he became secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party. Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar was T&T’s Prime Minister at the time and Xi Jinping’s host. While in T&T President Xi met all Caricom leaders who had diplomatic relations with China, and China made pledges of various kinds, leading to the signing up of ten Caribbean countries to China’s Belt and Road initiative.
Xi Jinping flew from T&T to Costa Rica, then to Mexico. And in 2013, he visited Argentina and Brazil, meeting country heads. China has 11 ground satellite stations in Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil and more in Cuba. And, China has some jurisdiction over 40 ports across the Americas. Such realities make the US uneasy.
Venezuela is a rich country with bad politics which owns 17% of the world’s petroleum reserves. At the same time, China is a major importer of oil from Venezuela. Russia owns natural gas fields in Venezuela and Iran has been providing technical support to Venezuela’s oil industry, including state-owned PDVSA. Venezuela and Iran have also signed a 20-year cooperation agreement. Chevron, exporting oil from Venezuela to the US, has had its OFAC licence pulled. T&T, which has two decades-long leases to draw natural gas from Venezuelan fields, for processing by the National Gas Company, has also had its OFAC licences withdrawn.
T&T is caught up in the tensions between Venezuela and the USA because of the deteriorating relations between those two countries over the last 25 years.
On the other hand, the 21st-century strengthening of relations with the Caribbean by Venezuela started with Hugo Chavez’ Petro Caribe initiative in 2005. T&T did not need it at the time and was not part of it, but most other Caricom countries signed up. Within the last few years, Maduro has forgiven energy debt fully for some countries and reduced it by half for others. But migration has also brought people together across national, geographical and linguistic boundaries, and regional engagement across Caricom, CELAC, ALBA, ECLAC and other institutions has facilitated improved relations at governmental level. At the same time, Nicolas Maduro has faced opposition from border countries Colombia and Brazil on the issue of free and fair election, as it has from the US and Europe. And Venezuela, in spite of mediation attempts by Caricom, has aggressively threatened Guyana on rights to the Esequibo region.
While China’s relationship with Venezuela has intensified, so China’s relationship with Caricom and the Caribbean has grown. And the Caribbean has reached a crossroads where it must diversify its markets, as well as its sources of supply, investments and points of dependence if it is to survive in a world in which the US’ first principle has meant aggression on tariffs and probably marginalisation of the developing world.
So, T&T and Caricom are not only caught between Venezuela and US, but between China and the US, as well as between Venezuela and China; and in the triangular tension among the United States, Venezuela and China.
Somewhere, caught up in the geopolitics, is the legitimacy of the Maduro presidency in Venezuela. And on this matter, the Government of T&T seems to have fully aligned with the United States, although it has ongoing business with Venezuela, on whom its well-being depends. But the value of any such business, also pointedly, depends on the goodwill of the United States amidst its own tensions.
