Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 03/Jan 04:35

US/Venezuela impasse tops the headlines

THE EDITOR: This is a good time to reflect on the highlights of 2025. We started the year anticipating the departure of prime minister Dr Rowley and the anointing of a new PM. Hand-picked and forced upon the country was Stuart Young. Almost immediately ringing the election bell after assuming the office of PM, Young started what would eventually be the shortest term of a PM in our country’s history. On April 28, we saw the nation removing the incumbent government and replacing it with the UNC, and the first and only female PM of the country was returned to the position she once held. The new opposition PNM did away with its 42-day leader and replaced him with the party’s first female Opposition Leader. With a female President, we now had three women holding the highest offices in the country. A continuation of the state of emergency, the arrest of a sitting police commissioner, assassination plots on a government minister all played out in 2025, yet none topped the headlines for 2025. That honour would go to the impasse between the US and Venezuela and our role and position in it. Much has been said about the decision by PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar to openly and unequivocally support the US in its continuing conflict with Venezuela. Simply put, if TT had not taken the decision to support the US, our relationship with that country would have severely been damaged. Anyone who thinks differently is gravely misguided; just look at Dominica and Antigua. Had both Rowley or Young been at the helm of our government during this impasse, their open support of the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela would have placed us in an untenable position with the US under the disguise of sovereignty and independence. Our nation would have suffered greatly for the pride and arrogance of these two men. Persad-Bissessar has proven to be the right leader for this period of our history. As we look to 2026, my hope is for a speedy end to this conflict, and greater dialogue with Caricom leaders. The year 2026 is set to have its own challenges and hopefully successes for the people of our great country. SHELDON RAGOONANAN Sangre Grande The post US/Venezuela impasse tops the headlines appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.