THE WARD POST: Venezuela: Why it matters to us – a Trinidadian’s perspectives

A young citizen of Trinidad & Tobago, Adam Raffoul, was asked by TWP to provide his perspectives on the political situation in Venezuela and his own country’s response. Geographically, Trinidad is seven miles from Venezuela. Here is Adam Raffoul’s response.)

(24 March 2019) –– The Venezuelan Political Situation has been dominating Trinidad’s news cycle over the last couple days. Like many topics, unfortunately, not much in depth analysis is done, far less explained to the average citizen. As someone who has studied International Relations in Washington, D.C. and interacted with both American and Caricom policy makers there, I feel compelled to write this letter to the editor, and hope I can do the topic justice.

Nations like people, make decisions and interact everyday with a variety of players, nation states, as well as a host of multilateral organizations and multinational corporations. The fundamental question that should drive our foreign policy is “What is our national interest?” Each foreign policy decision our country makes each public statement by our leaders, impact our standing in the world and impacts our relationship with these players.

As a small island developing state, dependent on trade to survive, our foreign policy is our lifeblood. What makes this crisis so important is that our closest neighbor by distance, Venezuela, is suffering internal conflict. This stems from a disputed presidential election, which many nations around the world, including the United States, claim was not free and fair. To make matters worse, Venezuela’s economy is in free fall, with shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation. This has caused a refugee crisis with millions of Venezuelans fleeing the country, with an estimated 60,000 fleeing to Trinidad and Tobago.

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