Aboard a Venezuelan navy vessel, Prime Minister Gaston Browne proclaims eternal support for what he calls the “duly elected” Maduro regime, stand by the Cuban regime, and criticise President Donald Trump.
“We are fully aware of the geopolitical challenges that Venezuela faces. However, the government and people of Venezuela must be assured that Antigua and Barbuda continues to be a very liable partner and will continue to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Venezuela,” Browne said, according to CMC’s report in Jamaica’s Gleaner.
Decries those who ‘demonize the duly elected Venezuelan government’
“We will not be persuaded by the rhetoric or the misinformation and dis-information that are being used to demonise the duly elected Venezuelan government. We will continue to work with Venezuela, Cuba and other like-minded countries to ensure that our hemisphere remains a ‘Zone of Peace,’” said Browne.
The Gleaner paraphrased Browne as saying that “Antigua and Barbuda will not turn its back on Venezuela despite pressures from the United States for countries in the region to do so.”
The report said that Browne described “the visit of the vessel as ‘the embodiment’ of the peaceful culture of the government of Venezuela.”
Browne boarded the Simon Bolivar, a three-masted barque that serves as the Venezuelan Naval academy’s training vessel and a “goodwill ambassador.”
Fond recollection of the PetroCaribe money
The Venezuelan Navy held a “ceremony” aboard the ship. Browne credited the Venezuelan regime, which he called “duly elected,” with providing credits worth more than EC$500 million in credits through PetroCaribe (which is somehow tied to the Alfa Nero affair, but that’s another issue). That bailout took place between 2008 and 2011, under the opposition UPP government, but Browne appears to credit himself.
Referring to the PetroCaribe initiative, Browne said, “This act literally stabilised the country’s economy which was one of the worst hit by the global crisis. On behalf of the people of Antigua and Barbuda, I wish to extend our sincerest gratitude to the people of Venezuela for their assistance.”
Browne swipes at Trump
“Evidently, there are some political challenges as a result of the new policies of the Trump administration. However, we continue to advocate for stability within the region and for the US to reconsider its policies that will destabilise the region,” said Browne aboard the Venezuelan ship.
The Gleaner report paraphrased Browne as “adding that Washington wants to punish countries that benefit from Venezuelan oil as one such potentially harmful policy.”
“We are fully aware of the geopolitical challenges that Venezuela faces. However, the government and people of Venezuela must be assured that Antigua and Barbuda continues to be a very liable partner and will continue to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Venezuela,” Browne said.
“We will not be persuaded by the rhetoric or the misinformation and dis-information that are being used to demonise the duly elected Venezuelan government. We will continue to work with Venezuela, Cuba and other like-minded countries to ensure that our hemisphere remains a ‘Zone of Peace,'” Browne stated, according to the Gleaner report.
