Venezuela hits out at Trinidad and Tobago in oil spill spat

Venezuela has raised the alarm over an oil spill that it alleges came from the neighbouring Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago and has reached its shores.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the spill is putting fragile ecosystems at risk and interfering with fishing.

The incident threatens to further strain relations between the two countries. Caracas was infuriated when Trinidad’s new government said it supported actions by the United States that led to former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s abduction.

“There is a threat to the marine ecosystems and fishing activities and coastal communities,” said the ministry in a statement, demanding that Trinidad and Tobago “fully assume its responsibility by adopting immediate measures to prevent further incidents,” and be transparent “regarding the causes, scope, and consequences of this spill”.

The government in the capital, Port of Spain, retorted that it had deployed security services to find the purported spill and requested location coordinates from Venezuela.

“The Air Guard and Coast Guard have been deployed to do reconnaissance work on the sea and with drones to determine the facts,” Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal told the Reuters news agency.

The island’s foreign ministry has also reached out to Venezuela’s embassy in Port of Spain for more information, Moonilal said.

The Venezuelan government did not specify which areas were affected by the spill, which it said was confirmed by satellite imagery.

The small English-speaking island nation of Trinidad and Tobago lies just 10km (six miles) off Venezuela’s coast.

Relations between the neighbours have been strained since Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar returned to power last year and adopted a hardline stance on Venezuelan migration. She also worked to strengthen ties with the US, prior to Maduro’s capture in January.

The purported oil spill echoes a February 2024 incident, when a tanker sank in Trinidad and Tobago’s waters and pollution spread into Venezuela’s territorial waters.