Venezuela Tears Up Energy Deals with Trinidad and Tobago

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced the immediate termination of all energy agreements signed with Trinidad and Tobago. This is reported by Reuters, noting that the decision was made against the backdrop of growing military-political tension in the region.

Maduro's drastic step was preceded by the entry of the American missile destroyer "USS Gravely" into a port in Trinidad and Tobago. The American warship is one of eight ships participating in the "anti-drug operation" against Venezuela. As reported, the US Navy ships were forced to change their course to avoid the approaching powerful hurricane "Melissa." It is precisely this circumstance that explains the decision of the "USS Gravely" destroyer to take shelter in the port of the neighboring island state, where the crew is waiting for the weather conditions to improve.

However, regardless of the extent to which the entry of the American warship was conditioned by the weather factor, in Caracas, it was perceived as a hostile act. The Venezuelan authorities have repeatedly criticized the US "anti-drug operation," calling it a provocation and military pressure against their country's sovereignty.

In this context, Trinidad and Tobago's provision of shelter to an American warship participating in an operation against

Venezuela has, in all likelihood, been viewed as an unfriendly act and cooperation with Washington. This became the reason for Nicolás Maduro's harsh and immediate reaction, which was expressed in the severance of the most important economic agreements between the two countries in the energy sector.