T&T’s efforts to revive the long-stalled Dragon gas deal have reached a decisive turning point, with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressing her willingness to personally travel to Venezuela to initiate negotiations.
However, despite this diplomatic overture and a green light from Washington via an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license, Caracas remains unresponsive.
Experts warn that for any meaningful progress to be made, the Prime Minister must adopt a more conciliatory tone and demonstrate the humility needed to rebuild trust and reset strained bilateral relations.
Political scientists Dr Bishnu Ragoonath and Dr Winford James, along with Professor Anthony Bryan—a leading scholar and independent consultant on energy development, security, geopolitics, and renewable energy—have weighed in on the state of affairs.
The Dragon gas deal, originally signed between the governments of T&T and Venezuela, would allow this country to access and process natural gas from Venezuela’s offshore reserves.
However, it was shelved after US sanctions.
Now, with Washington granting an OFAC license to facilitate the agreement, the path has been seemingly cleared for renewed talks—if both sides are willing.
Ragoonath, however, noted that lingering hostility between the two governments could complicate matters.
“Are they going to allow that bad blood to impact on international cross-border negotiations?
“We really have to wait and see how Venezuela reacts to it. What we know for a fact is simply that there are agreements between the government of T&T and the government of Venezuela. Whether the government of Venezuela will want to abide by those agreements, we really have to wait and see,” he said.
On whether the Prime Minister’s previous statements could jeopardise the deal, Ragoonath emphasised the importance of tone and diplomacy.
“Again, how people speak could impact upon how negotiations will go, and Kamla’s adviser would really have to revisit how she speaks about Venezuela. In like manner, the Venezuelan ministers who have been calling her drunk and all of those things, they very well have to revisit, because these are not negotiations about personalities,” he added.
Bryan echoed these sentiments, stressing that any visit by the Prime Minister must be preceded by formal diplomatic groundwork, saying, “she can’t just launch herself into Venezuela.”
“She won’t go to Venezuela unless the Venezuelan government agrees, and that kind of agreement takes place between the two foreign ministers and the diplomatic representatives,” he added.
Bryan, however, downplayed the inflammatory rhetoric exchanged between the two sides.
“In the final analysis, that doesn’t mean a damn thing as the economics of the Dragon gas deal remains more important than political figures,” he said.
As for whether Persad-Bissessar would be welcomed in Venezuela, Bryan offered a more measured response.
“Once the two foreign officers agree then, she will be welcomed. I don’t know about the open arms part of it, but she won’t go to Venezuela unless the Venezuelans agree to it.”
Meanwhile, James noted that the silence from Caracas remains deafening.
Agreeing that Persad-Bissessar has reversed her earlier stance, now expressing willingness to do business with Venezuela, he, however, cautioned that diplomacy requires reciprocity.
“It can’t be Kamla alone calling the shots because all the gas is on Venezuela’s side, but Venezuela apparently can’t monetise the gas they have, so they have to rely on Trinidad to help them do that.
“So it seems to me that Venezuela has to respond in some way. I’ve been listening out for such a response ... It’s not a question of one hand clapping,” he said.
James also raised a broader concern about sovereignty and external influence.
“One of the more important issues is, why is it a sovereign country should wait for permission to do business with another sovereign country, and they’re waiting for that permission to come from the ‘Big Bad Wolf’” he stated.
James acknowledged that both governments have exchanged inflammatory remarks in the past, including Venezuela’s public insults directed at the Prime Minister; however, he urged both sides to move beyond the rhetoric.
While the PM has signalled a shift in posture, James questioned whether she has done enough to extend a genuine olive branch.
“Yes, I would look for some humility,” he said. “The question is what shape that humility will take.”
Guardian Media also contacted Venezuela’s Ambassador to T&T, Álvaro Sánchez Cordero, seeking his perspectives on the status of the Dragon gas negotiations.
However, he indicated that he had not yet received official clearance to comment on the matter.
Browne accuses PM
of “belligerent and
disrespectful posture”
On whether he believed the heated war of words between T&T and Venezuela could jeopardise the Dragon gas deal, former foreign affairs minister Dr Amery Browne said every week for several months now Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, himself, and other “right-thinking citizens” have been advising the Prime Minister and her Government against their increasingly “belligerent and disrespectful posture toward Venezuela.”
However, he said her government has consistently issued declarations and statements designed to increase tensions across the border, even to the extent of isolating T&T from the rest of Caricom, and has demonstrated a particularly cavalier approach to the considerations and tenets of international law, maritime law, and regional diplomacy.
Browne added the entire region has witnessed “minister after minister in this Government” participate in unseemly and unneighbourly rhetoric directed against Venezuela, adding “our zone of peace was further recently disturbed by a nuclear threat from T&T associated with racist connotations for which there has been no apology.”
Last Friday, Persad-Bissessar said there was no rift between T&T and Venezuela, describing it as a false narrative.
