Venezuela Says Trinidad Oil Spill Reaches Its Shores, Threatens Fishing
Venezuela said satellite imagery confirmed the spill and warned it could harm marine ecosystems, fishing activities and coastal communities.
- On Friday, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry reported a new oil spill allegedly originating in Trinidad and Tobago, warning of the "drift of pollutants toward Venezuelan waters, with risks to marine ecosystems, fishing activities and coastal communities."
- Relations between the neighbors have been strained since Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar adopted a hardline stance on migration, complicating shared resource management in the Gulf of Paria where the nations lie just 10km apart.
- Venezuelan authorities claim this incident exceeds the volume of last month's spill, which affected about 647 square miles, 140 marine species, and 500 artisanal fishermen, causing "serious environmental damage."
- Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal deployed vessels and drones to investigate, stating, "We are coordinating a joint operation to establish the facts" while requesting location coordinates from Venezuela.
- Seeking accountability, Venezuela reserves the right to pursue action before international bodies "to determine responsibility, seek appropriate compensation and prevent the repetition of similar events" while urging permanent operational safeguards.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Caracas. The government of Venezuela yesterday reported on the detection of a new oil spill from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which exceeds in magnitude the one that occurred last month and confirms the displacement of pollutants to national jurisdictional waters. One day before, the president in charge, Delcy Rodríguez, led the signing of a “historical step” by granting a license to multinational Shell to exploit natural gas on the bord…
The Venezuelan Executive was emphatic in pointing out that the affectation of its territorial waters will not be left without a legal response.
CARACAS (AP) — Venezuela denounced an oil spill originating from Trinidad and Tobago on Friday and demanded that the neighboring country's government assume responsibility to prevent future incidents that affect the South American nation's coasts.
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