raphael.lall@guardian.co.tt
New Venezuelan Ambassador to T&T, Álvaro Enrique Sánchez Cordero, is hoping the two countries can renew economic ties.
In recent times, the US government has sent several delegations to Caracas and Venezuela has started to export oil again to Europe given the uncertainty of the Russia/Ukraine war.
Sánchez Cordero would like to see a similar revival in the economic relations between Venezuela and T&T.
“We must consider that both T&T and Venezuela are among the largest gas producers in the region and even the world. In addition, we share fields that extend across our borders, such as the Loran-Manatee. Hence, it makes economic and practical sense to monetise the exploitation of those reserves,” Sanchez said in a statement to Guardian Media.
“Indeed, in 2010, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela exchanged instruments of ratification related to the Loran-Manatee Unitisation Agreement. These projects may be taken again. In addition, it is worth recalling that Caricom member states expressed their goodwill about the exploitation of natural gas between T&T and Venezuela during the 43rd Ordinary Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government, considering that this scheme would be beneficial to the whole Caribbean region.”
Sánchez Cordero, who presented his credentials to President Paula-Mae Weekes on May 4 as he replaced previous Ambassador Carlos Amador Perez Silva, said he also to move cultural cooperation forward.
On the issue of Venezuelan migrants in T&T, he said the only official number is the one generated by the registration conducted in June 2019 by T&T’s Government. At that time, a total of 16,523 Venezuelans were registered. However, according to the confirmation process carried out in 2021, 13,800 Venezuelan nationals re-registered.
After seven years of no economic growth, Venezuela’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew in 2021 and international organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) have projected strong economic growth rates for Venezuela in 2022 and the future.
Based on this, Sanchez said the Venezuelan government has a plan encouraging those who have left to return to the country and explained why people are returning to Venezuela.
“This decrease by around 3,000 people in T&T is testament of a tendency where Venezuelans are steadily returning home, to a certain extent aided by the Venezuelan economic recovery. Last but not least, the Venezuelan government welcomes all returning Venezuelan nationals. Thus, since 2018, we have launched a programme called “Vuelta a la Patria.” Our government created the Plan Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland Programme) in 2018, which supports the return of our vulnerable Venezuelans back to Venezuela by air, sea or land. Since then, more than 29,000 Venezuelans have successfully returned. Specifically, more than 1,000 Venezuelan nationals have returned from T&T through Plan Vuelta a la Patria. This great project continues, and all Venezuelans who want to join the Plan Vuelta a la Patria can come to the Embassy and register.”
Meanwhile, Sanchez Cordero also denied reports that Venezuela is a major cocaine hub in the region. In reference to an article in the T&T Guardian headlined Insight Crime: Venezuela could become fourth global cocaine producer, published on May 7, 2022, Sanchez Cordero rubbished the claims made.
“The crafters of these false allegations have several objectives in mind: to create division in the Venezuelan government, and along the rank and file of Venezuelan government supporters; to tarnish Venezuela internationally; to destabilise Venezuela, thus contributing to regime change, and ultimately it serves as the excuse needed by the US Government to sanction individual, high-ranking government officials from the Venezuelan Government. Nonetheless, as stated above, not a single shred of evidence has been produced,” Sánchez Cordero said.
He pointed to a quote in the article by Insight Crime, where it is claimed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro exerts “control over access to the huge proceeds from cocaine, not only for drug traffickers, but also for corrupt politicians and the Cartel de los soles.”
He refuted any suggestion this reflects the reality.
“Although accusations have constantly appeared in the Western media about the ‘Cartel de los soles’—a supposedly drug smuggling organisation led by Venezuelan Government officials and military officers - not a single piece of evidence has ever been produced about any activity, criminal or otherwise, of that made-up drug cartel,” Sánchez Cordero said.
He said the article also goes against statistical and scientific information provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).
“In its latest report, UNDOC ranked Venezuela as the fourth country in the world in terms of drug seizing and dismantling laboratories. Indeed, in the last 14 years, Venezuela has neutralised 228 aircraft linked to drug smuggling, carried out 259 anti-drug operations in the country and destroyed 536 unauthorised runways, as well as 368 cocaine laboratories, and seized more than 40,115,334 tons of chemical substances,” he said.
