New Venezuela/Barbados air travel pact could set tongues wagging on CARICOM steadfastness on territorial claim

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley

Pointing unerringly to her intention to chart a foreign policy course that she regards as best for her tiny island nation, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has, in recent weeks, sent unmistakable signals that she is determined to hitch her country’s sails, first, to the mast of its self- interest. 

In July, the Barbados Prime Minister who ‘owns’ the highest international profile among her CARICOM colleagues, returned from a visit to Venezuela with ‘perks’ that included bilateral agreements in areas that include energy, agriculture and air transport, all of those areas being pertinent to the growth of her tiny island nation. Quicker, perhaps, than might have been expected, news broke on Saturday September 30, the 54th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries that an A190-seater airplane from Caracas, will now be travelling to Barbados twice weekly.