Ken Ali
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has just called on Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of American States (OAS) to debate the Venezuelan crisis.
T&T is a member of the OAS.
The image of our Foreign Minister Dennis Moses at the OAS forum may be a diplomatic tragi-comedy, but Pompeo’s call is another indication of the US’s gritty determination on this international emergency.
Pompeo is the US’s top diplomat.
His call came in the midst of a damning address to the OAS, in which he slammed the Nicolas Maduro regime and called for the installation of Juan Guaido as president.
Pompeo also said that Russia has sent military hardware to Caracas to prop up the illegitimate Maduro administration.
Several other repressive governments are lining up behind Maduro, while modern democracies are demanding the ouster of the dictatorial Maduro regime.
The hard line position of US President Donald Trump has set the stage for a possible international confrontation at our doorstep.
A US foreign policy expert was quoted by CNN as saying: “I expect full speed escalation; this is going to escalate nationally and internationally.”
On October 25, 1983, then president Ronald Reagan led a US military invasion into Soviet-friendly Grenada, T&T’s then prime minister George Chambers summoned the local Parliament.
Chambers defiantly stood against the mighty US and most of his Caricom colleagues, and denounced the invasion.
He won the support of the parliamentary opposition.
The Rowley administration has been typically listless on the raging political and diplomatic crisis, opting for tactful middle-of-the-road lingo.
But this attempt at being discreet and cunning is not resonating with an attentive international community.
The highly-respected Bloomberg has already painted T&T as being in Maduro’s corner.
Soon, Caricom, OAS, the United Nations, organisations representing Latin countries and other international bodies would be asked to take a firm stand on the growing predicament.
The Rowley regime has sat on the fence on most international issues, leading to justifiable queries about the country’s foreign policy.
Remember the Dominica OAS waiver scandal, in which Moses attempted to make diplomat Anthony Phillips-Spencer the fall guy?
Moses should not have been appointed T&T’s top diplomat in the first place, but having being foisted on us, should have lost his job over the Dominican disgrace.
Rowley’s bewildering attempt at non-alignment on the Venezuelan emergency is untenable and a rebuff to our people as leaders in Caricom and as an autonomous nation.
The Prime Minister should facilitate a debate at the next sitting of the House of Representatives, similarly to what Chambers did amid the Grenadian invasion.
Rowley must then cough up a decisive T&T position on the crisis, and subject the matter to critical scrutiny by elected representatives.
The matter should not be left to the political Opposition.
After all, Speaker Bridgid Annissette-George was not persuaded on definite urgent importance of the widespread floods a few months ago.
Annisette-George may also not be convinced about an emerging international conflict a few miles away.
The Venezuelan crisis demands earnest T&T leadership.