(Trinidad Express) Caricom leaders have once again urged the United States to lift its sanctions against Venezuela.
Caricom chairman and Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said leaders have also appealed for the US blockade on Cuba to be lifted and for assistance to be rendered to crisis-struck Haiti.
Speaking at a news conference which marked the end of the 45th Caricom Heads of Government meeting last night at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port of Spain, Skerrit said the region’s heads believe that after so many years the United States must act to remove the sanctions on Venezuela.
“We in the Caribbean, especially those of us who have been signatories and beneficiaries of the PetroCaribe agreement, have suffered immensely,” he said, noting that Caribbean citizens have to bear the high cost of petrol products on the global market because Venezuela is unable to export its products to the region due to US sanctions.
He said the PetroCaribe agreement has virtually come to a halt in some of the Caricom countries because of the inability of Venezuela to export.
“We believe the issue of sanctions should be removed and allow the people to go about their lives, especially in these challenging times,” he said.
Skerrit said everyone else in the Caribbean should be firm with respect to the removal of the US sanctions on Venezuela.
The United States will note these requests and submissions, he said.
Asked if there were any discussions with respect to Trinidad and Tobago’s Dragon gas deal with Venezuela, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley responded: “We didn’t get down to that level of specificity, but what you should understand is that we are, at the moment, engaged with the US in a way that we have not before, and that is the first hurdle that we have to cross and we make our case and we continue to make them.”
Rowley said discussions between Trinidad and Tobago and the US delegations will continue today at 9 a.m.
Lift Cuba embargo
Skerrit summarised the discussions Caricom leaders held over the past two days.
He said they also raised the issue of the embargo against Cuba with the US, and “we reiterated our call to the United States to have this blockade against Cuba lifted”.
He said they discussed Haiti and “how we can join forces with Rwanda who has expressed their interest and commitment to providing tangible support on the ground in Haiti towards a resolution of the crisis confronting that nation”.
Skerrit said Caricom looks forward to collaborating with Rwanda which has offered to also engage the African Union on Haiti.
He said Caricom leaders met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Democratic leader in the House of Representatives Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and they had some “very extensive engagement” with the United States on issues relating to Haiti, climate financing and the impact of climate change on the region.
He said they also discussed regional security, especially the influx of guns and ammunition coming into Caribbean countries and creating havoc. Skerrit said they urged the US to take more concrete action on stemming the flow of these guns.
He said they also discussed the issue with respect to correspondent banking and the challenges the region faces with the blacklisting of countries.
Skerrit announced there will be a Caricom Heads retreat in Dominica on August 18 and 19 to prepare for a meeting in Guyana, and he has instructed that the suits be left at home and leaders come in T-shirts, jeans and shorts. They will review the governance issues with Caricom and functional cooperation, said Skerrit.
He said the average person on the street in the Caribbean wants to see tangible benefits.
The Dominica Prime Minister said further that Martinique and Curacao will be welcomed into Caricom and they hope to wrap up outstanding negotiations with regard to this by August; and by February next year there will be a formal ceremony in Guyana to welcome these nations.
