A major diplomatic row has erupted in Trinidad and Tobago this week, as former foreign affairs minister and opposition figure Dr. Amery Browne has publicly rejected Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s recent public expression of affection for Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, dismissing the comment as a disingenuous political pivot that does not fix already damaged bilateral ties.
Persad-Bissessar first made headlines with her remarks earlier this week, when she spoke to reporters on the steps of Port of Spain’s Hall of Justice during the annual ceremonial opening of the new law term. Alongside sharing her statement of “love” for Rodríguez, the Prime Minister confirmed she is planning to hold a bilateral meeting with the Venezuelan interim leader on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, scheduled to take place later this month in New York.
Speaking from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Port of Spain one day after Persad-Bissessar’s announcement, Browne argued that the current administration is only now attempting to repair a bilateral relationship that its own leadership actively undermined during its time in office. The opposition leader also pointed out that Trinidad and Tobago’s government has yet to issue a formal apology to the Venezuelan government for past critical comments Persad-Bissessar made about Rodríguez.
Browne emphasized that warm personal remarks do not amount to substantive, principled diplomacy, noting that the ruling United National Congress (UNC) administration led by Persad-Bissessar bears full responsibility for the current frayed ties between the two neighboring nations. He recalled that just years prior, the Prime Minister publicly backed harsh international sanctions targeting Rodríguez, framing her sudden embrace of the Venezuelan leader as a move driven purely by political convenience rather than genuine change in policy.
He also pushed back on Persad-Bissessar’s reference to her own family ties to Venezuela – the Prime Minister has noted her mother-in-law is Venezuelan – arguing that personal connections to the country have no bearing on official state-to-state relations between neighboring countries. “One is anticipated to demonstrate principle. One is anticipated to demonstrate dignity. And one is anticipated and called upon to demonstrate consistency,” Browne said, adding that Persad-Bissessar has failed on all three counts.
Browne called for a full review of the Prime Minister’s long record on Venezuela policy, rather than only focusing on her recent remarks. “When the Prime Minister says to tell Delcy Rodríguez that I love her, we need to examine not just the words of today or yesterday, but also the actions and statements of the Prime Minister and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, going back years since her appointment and even during her time as leader of the Opposition,” he explained.
Over years of inconsistent stances, Browne claimed, Persad-Bissessar has come to be seen internationally as an unreliable, unprincipled actor on regional diplomacy. “Previous statements by Persad-Bissessar have led to a view and those actions have led to a view, that this Prime Minister is being viewed as a pawn, as a vassal, as someone who is inconsistent and shifty,” Browne said.
The opposition leader rejected the framing of Persad-Bissessar’s comments as a genuine new chapter in bilateral relations, arguing that past actions cannot be erased with warm words. “When you spend years verbally abusing a neighbouring state, its people, its government, its positions, you cannot now cast that as love,” he added.
Browne also leveled a separate accusation that the Prime Minister lied to the Trinidad and Tobago public about the country’s role in efforts to remove former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power. He noted that before the UNC took office, bilateral relations between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela were at a strong, positive point, with no need for any diplomatic reset. “Relations were at an optimal level, and it is this Prime Minister, deliberately, against all warnings and good advice, who damaged those relationships,” he said.
In a final striking point, Browne reminded the public that the Prime Minister still holds persona non grata status in Venezuela, a restriction that has not been lifted even with her new public expressions of goodwill toward Rodríguez and the Venezuelan government.