Category Archives: Venezuela

General T&T, International, Palestine, USA, Venezuela

There will be no war

By Raffique Shah
December 11, 2023

Raffique ShahYou’d think the bloodletting in The Gaza, especially when seen through the lens of Al Jazeera, would deter any country that is involved in disputes over territories from sliding into war. But, because of man, history is often doomed to repeat itself.

Let me say I have tried, on my own, to limit the exposure by television to the genocide that Israel is inflicting on the Palestinians. It does not always work. Rosina will sit quietly and cry, watching children of different ages, but mostly one ethnicity, screaming in pain after Israeli bombs destroy the hospitals they call shelters.
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Britain, Caribbean, General T&T, Guyana, International, Law, Letters, USA, Venezuela

Calling Arsonists to Quench Fires? Careful, Guyana

By Corey Gilkes
December 03, 2023 – coreygilkes.wordpress.com

lettersCalypsonian/Philosopher Brother Valentino sarcastically sang how the average Trini “doh care if Ash Wednesday fall on Good Friday,” alluding to an acquiescent, happy-go-lucky, carefree culture of conformity in the face of exploitative authority figures. This can be a good thing sometimes, otherwise plenty places coulda (and shoulda) bun down already.
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General T&T, Guyana, Oil and Gas, Politics, USA, Venezuela

Thanks, USA – for nothing

By Raffique Shah
January 30, 2023

Raffique ShahI suppose Trinidad and Tobago, being a small-island-state, very literally, has to be thankful for small mercies dished out by the super-powers of the world. In this case, big, bad USA, has finally agreed to issue a waiver on the sanctions it has imposed on Venezuela that will allow TT and Caracas to monetise an estimated 4.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from the Dragon field, which lies close to the international boundary between the two countries, but which belongs to Venezuela.
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Caribbean, General T&T, Guyana, Oil and Gas, Venezuela

Venezuela Clinging at Legal Straws to Delay the ICJ Arbitration with Guyana

4 Comments

By Stephen Kangal
November 21, 2022

Stephen KangalGuyana, by the internationally accepted law and principle of state succession today and as an independent state member of the UN/OAS has total authority, sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction and control above (air space), beyond (maritime) and below (subsoil) the current state of Guyana formerly British Guiana by an Independence Agreement concluded by GB/UK and British Guiana effective from the date of the latter’s independence in 1966.
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General T&T, International, Politics, Venezuela

Probe Coast Guard shooting

9 Comments

Probe Coast Guard shooting Express Editorial
The shooting incident involving the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard which resulted in the killing of a baby and injury to his mother demands a full and independent enquiry.

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Comment from Kian

I am deeply disturbed by the reporting of the Coast Guard actions against the Venezuelan boat that caused the death of an infant.

As a nation, we need to understand our constitution, institutions and the purpose of their existence and operations. The constitution allows a government (run by politicians), the Judiciary (run by qualified judges, magistrates etc), armed services (army, coast guard, police, air & sea support). The armed services are NOT civilian controlled. In the case of the Army and Coast Guard, they represent our line of defense against armed insurrection, enemy invasion and border patrol.
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General T&T, International, USA, Venezuela

An Existentialist Crisis

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 09, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIt might be providential that Che Lewis’s corpse was paraded around the capital city at the same time that we are talking about the goals of our educational system and the Venezuelan crisis. The simultaneity of these events should make us think where our society is (in terms of values) and where we wish to go (in terms of concrete achievements).
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China, General T&T, International, Politics, Racism Watch, Russia, USA, Venezuela

It’s a topsy-turvy world

5 Comments

By Raffique Shah
December 06, 2020
Posted: December 08, 2020

Raffique ShahThe ethnic mix of the Venezuelan population—51 percent are categorised as Mestizo (blend of White/indigenous/Afro), 41 percent European/Middle East /Whites)—ensures that those who are flocking Trinidad more than Tobago are almost exclusively from the first mix. They are the equivalents of the “Reds” in our population, hence they are widely acceptable, and accepted, to Trinis on both sides of our ethnic divide, as well as the “Douglars” in-between.
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General T&T, International, Latin America, Law, Racism Watch, USA, Venezuela

We Must Control Our Destiny

9 Comments

By Raffique Shah
November 30, 2020

Raffique ShahIf there is not now on our statute books a law that empowers us to deny entry into Trinidad and Tobago to any alien, man woman or child, more so persons seeking to enter our territory illegally, then Government must move post-haste to rectify such anomaly that foreigners are using to breach our borders. Further, if some government in the past compromised this inalienable right that every sovereign state in the world must surely enjoy by signing on to some nebulous convention that purports to promote human rights, then unshackle us, damn it if we are deemed inhumane, sub-human or maybe animals.
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General T&T, International, Oil and Gas, USA, Venezuela

How the U.S. Failed at Its Foreign Policy Toward Venezuela

By Vijay Prashad and Érika Ortega-Sanoja
August 10, 2020 – venezuelanalysis.com

Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair (CounterPunch)On August 4, 2020, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Venezuela. Appearing before the committee was U.S. State Department Special Representative Elliott Abrams. Abrams, who has had a long—and controversial—career in the formation of U.S. foreign policy, was assaulted by almost all the members of the Senate committee. The senators, almost without exception, suggested that Abrams had been—since 2019—responsible for a failed U.S. attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro.
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