Venezuela lashes out at Trinidad and Tobago in spill spat

Venezuela’s foreign ministry stated on Friday that the oil spill threatens fragile ecosystems and is disrupting local fishing activities.

The incident threatens to further strain relations between the two countries. Caracas was infuriated when Trinidad’s new government said it supported actions by the United States that led to former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s abduction, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

“There is a threat to the marine ecosystems and fishing activities and coastal communities,” said the ministry in a statement, demanding that Trinidad and Tobago “fully assume its responsibility by adopting immediate measures to prevent further incidents,” and be transparent “regarding the causes, scope, and consequences of this spill”.

The government in the capital, Port of Spain, retorted that it had deployed security services to find the purported spill and requested location coordinates from Venezuela.

“The Air Guard and Coast Guard have been deployed to do reconnaissance work on the sea and with drones to determine the facts,” Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal told the Reuters news agency.

The island’s foreign ministry has also reached out to Venezuela’s embassy in Port of Spain for more information, Moonilal said.

The Venezuelan government did not specify which areas were affected by the spill, which it said was confirmed by satellite imagery.

The small English-speaking island nation of Trinidad and Tobago lies just 10km (six miles) off Venezuela’s coast.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli