VENEZUELA’S presidential election was held in late July 2024. A winner was verbally announced by those already in power. To this day, however, details of the result have not been released.

It was reported that in light of the widespread demand for detailed results, the opposition leader, the one seeking to replace the incumbent president, had to seek refuge in the Spanish embassy of that country and eventually flew out, for fear of his safety.

Long before this election, Venezuelans, by the thousands, were fleeing to neighbouring countries, including ours, because of hard-hitting economic challenges. And this is even in the face of Venezuela at present being documented as the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Other mineral reserves of that country include iron, bauxite, gold, diamonds, etc. Its fertile agricultural lands also produce sugar, coffee, corn, bananas and cacao in exportable quantities.

With that abundance of resources, why are its citizens running to countries with less than 1% of those massive resources, and some of these countries not even one hundredth the size of Venezuela? And why are many established global democracies and major food and technology suppliers not recognising President Nicolas Maduro’s victory claim?

This is the same Maduro who, even with all that great quantity of resources at his disposal, has been asserting that more than half of adjoining Guyana belongs to Venezuela. Shades of Vladimir Putin? Outside of the South American continent, Trinidad and Tobago is a nation that is within seven miles of Venezuela.

Given this reality, doesn’t that make us vulnerable to baseless claims and possibly steps by Maduro far more sweeping than those unleashed on Guyana, more so given that T&T is a small island nation capable of being surrounded and overtaken? Unfortunately, the offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) that one government administration tried to obtain was cancelled (just like other projects) after it was voted out of office.

A few months ago, our political leaders (in and out of office) were vociferously appealing for one side to withdraw from the war-torn Middle East situation, which is more than 6,000 miles away from us. Today, the countries that feed us, buy our petroleum products and other produce, and are our authentic protectors from potential tyrants are condemning the reluctance of the Maduro administration to publicly give a detailed report (a sign that democracy exists) on its election while T&T politicians remain extremely silent on a sensitive situation.

Therefore, it must be asked: is their silence on this grave matter just a disguise for their chickenhearted mentality towards the evident dictatorship of the Venezuelan president, or is it really a disguise of their brazen approval of the Venezuelan president’s totalitarianism? Because if it’s the latter, they (our politicians) need to be reminded of who the major suppliers of our humongous food, industrial and technological imports are, and who are the real providers of our national and regional security.

Lloyd Ragoo Chaguanas