PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Like others in this hemisphere and around the world, people in Trinidad and Tobago were naturally drawn to the larger-than-life figure of drama and colour projected by the late president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
His geopolitical influence and ambitions thrust way beyond the boundaries of the republic he dominated for 14 years, reaching even intimately into the English-speaking Caribbean. Somehow, however, T&T remained relatively untouched by more than the engaging theatrics that characterised "Chavismo".
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KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves Wednesday joined his Caribbean Community (CARICOM) colleagues in acknowledging that the death of Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez has left a void and many of his tasks unfinished.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death on Tuesday is unlikely to have any impact on trade between that country and Trinidad and Tobago, Trade Minister Vasant Bharath said yesterday.
In a telephone interview with the Express, Bharath said he met with new Venezuelan Ambassador Coromoto Godoy Calderon last week to discuss the possibility of a T&T trade mission to Venezuela to facilitate an improved trade relationship.
He said he was looking at some time in June or July for the mission to take place.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Venezuela's oil production is poised to reverse a dramatic decline that has seen exports fall by nearly half during Hugo Chávez's time as president. Following Chávez's death Tuesday, Venezuela, which is a member of OPEC and sits on the world's second-largest oil reserves, faces near-term political uncertainty that could bring further turmoil to its oil industry. And even under the best circumstances it would take years to increase production and exports, analysts say. But any new government would have a powerful economic incentive to make that a top priority.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - From the time in 1992 when, as a lieutenant colonel paratrooper in the Venezuelan army, he attempted a coup on the Carlos Andres Peres government, to being constitutionally elected just seven years later, Hugo Chavez as a political figure could not be ignored. His fervent supporters, amongst those who were socially dispossessed and historically discriminated against, perceived him as their redeemer. The middle and upper classes despised him and his socialist policies with equal passion.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - AS WRENCHING as it may still have been for his mass of supporters around the world, few could claim that Tuesday's death of Hugo Chávez, the charismatic and controversial president of Venezuela, had been entirely unexpected.
There was a sense that statements in recent days by his deputy, Nicolas Maduro, about the deteriorated state of Chávez's health were preparing the Venezuelan public for the inevitable. In that regard, Chávez's February 18 return to Venezuela from Cuba might have been a coming home to die.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - THE NOT SO UNEXPECTED NEWS came on Tuesday night of the passing of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leader for the past 14 years. He had become the standout figure in Latin America during his term in office, and forced many to either like him or hate him. There was no middle ground with Chavez.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Interim President of Venezuela Nicholas Maduro may likely win the upcoming election following the death of Hugo Chavez and his approach may be the same as Chavez’s, says Dr Mark Kirton of UWI’s Institute of International Relations. He spoke yesterday ahead of today’s panel discussion on Chavez by the institute.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - AS Shanique Myrie’s case against the Barbados Government continued in the Caribbean Court of Justice at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston yesterday morning, lead attorney for the Barbados Government, Roger Forde, received a sharp reprimand from head judge, Sir Dennis Byron.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The Jamaica leg of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) trial in the case of Shanique Myrie against the Barbados government is now complete. The lawyers representing Jamaican national, Shanique Myrie, have now closed their case at a hearing of the Caribbean Court of Justice, which was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston this week.