The decision by the United States government to grant a licence allowing Trinidad and Tobago to develop the Dragon gas field in Venezuelan territorial waters is a major win for T&T and Caricom.

It is a dramatic demonstration of what is possible when the region stands united.

This point was emphasised by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley in announcing the decision yesterday when he acknowledged and thanked his Caricom colleagues one by one for their lobbying efforts which have now borne fruit.

The US Treasury Department’s decision to approve T&T’s application for a waiver from US sanctions against Venezuela to pursue the development of the Dragon gas field opens a significant economic window for T&T and the region.


Although there are many issues in actually moving the project from the point of securing a licence to actually bringing gas ashore, the prospect of gas wouldn’t even exist now without a licence.

The Government therefore deserves kudos for staying the course and working with its Caricom partners to move the needle.

As this newspaper repeatedly stated, the position adopted by the Opposition United National Congress against dealing with the Maduro government was foolish and lacked any sense of realpolitik.

As the US government has demonstrated in Venezuela, above all nations must be led by a clear-eyed view of their own interest and not allow themselves to be caught up in drinking medicine for other people’s fever.

Just three weeks ago, US oil company Chevron moved its first shipment of Venezuelan crude oil to the US after being granted a six-month licence to expand its production in Venezuela and export crude to the US.

That alone should have indicated which way the wind is blowing when it comes to the tight sanctions imposed by the US on Venezuela.

We applaud the Biden administration’s decision to listen and respond to the region’s anxieties over energy security.

It was always unconscionable for the Caribbean islands and their people to become collateral damage in the battle between the US and Venezuela.

If sensitivity to Caribbean challenges is a spin-off benefit of US Vice President Kamala Harris’ Caribbean connections, well, we would happily take that.

Cautioned by the fact that there could be many a slip between cup and lip, we cannot be naïve about the many challenges ahead.

The decision by the United States government to grant a licence allowing Trinidad and Tobago to develop the Dragon gas field in Venezuelan territorial waters is a major win for T&T and Caricom.

The decision by the United States government to grant a licence allowing Trinidad and Tobago to develop the Dragon gas field in Venezuelan territorial waters

This is a Pyrrhic celebration at best

In reply to johndom90

I'm not saying we don't need it, the revenue, downstream, et al.

I'm commenting on the need for two sovereign states to get ' permission ' to do business with each other.
How often in the past 8 months have we heard that Ukraine is a sovereign state , right to self determination , join NATO etc.

TT and Venezuela as neighbors have been doing business with each other for centuries

I have not accepted the legality and moral integrity of the unilateral Venezuelan sanctions which are in place.

On top of which the only reason the US is 'allowing ' this is due to unintended domestic consequences of the

ill conceived sanctions against Russia. This is part of window dressing , a show of benevolence as cover going about replacing the loss

of Russian Heavy Oil to their market.

Hypocrisy at its best.

This is a Pyrrhic celebration at best.