The Daily Journal – Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressed personal affection for Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez and said she is willing to meet with her, signaling an apparent shift toward easing bilateral tensions.
When asked whether she had a message for Rodríguez, Persad-Bissessar said: “I love her. I look forward to meeting her.”
The two leaders could meet before the end of September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Persad-Bissessar said after attending the opening of the new judicial year in Port of Spain.
Her remarks mark a significant shift from the deterioration that characterized relations between the two countries over the past year.
In October 2025, Venezuela’s National Assembly declared Persad-Bissessar persona non grata, accusing Trinidad and Tobago of supporting U.S. military operations against Venezuelan territory.
At the height of the dispute, Rodríguez publicly described the Trinidadian prime minister as a woman who “crawls like a worm.” At the same time, Persad-Bissessar dismissed the statement as “useless” and denounced attempts to intimidate smaller neighboring states.
Tensions also extended to the energy sector when Persad-Bissessar said her country’s future did not depend on Venezuela and that her government would not give in to what she described as “blackmail by Venezuelans for political support.”
In April this year, acting President Rodríguez met with several regional leaders, including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.
She also held talks with former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Stuart Young, fueling speculation that Trinidad and Tobago could lose ground in regional dialogue.
However, Persad-Bissessar described Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Sean Sobers’ recent visit to Caracas as a success.
“Minister Sobers did very well. His visit was very successful… We will do whatever is necessary in the best interests of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela… Expect the best; there is more to come,” she said.
The prime minister also expressed confidence that Venezuelan natural gas will begin flowing to Trinidad and Tobago within a year.
“I do not doubt that gas from Venezuela will come to Trinidad and Tobago. It is the only conduit, the only place it can go through. We are seven miles away, and it will come. We have already signed agreements with BP. We expect to finalize agreements with Shell, XRG and many other companies,” she said.
She also stressed that ties between the two countries extend beyond diplomacy and energy, citing her own family connections to Venezuela: “You may not know this, but my mother-in-law is Venezuelan. My two grandnephews are Venezuelan. Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have very, very close ties.”
The rapprochement is part of a broader effort to rebuild bilateral relations formally.
On September 3, 2026, delegations from both countries signed a joint working agenda during Foreign Minister Sean Sobers’ official visit to Caracas, where he met with his Venezuelan counterpart, Félix Plasencia.
The document establishes a new stage in relations under the leadership of Delcy Rodríguez and Kamla Persad-Bissessar, based on the principles of “mutual respect, understanding and good neighborliness.” It outlines cooperation in energy, trade, agriculture, environmental affairs, border security and culture.
The agenda also acknowledges Trinidad and Tobago’s humanitarian assistance and its delivery of three tons of medical supplies following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, a gesture that the Venezuelan government expressly thanked Trinidad and Tobago for in the joint statement.
