Venezuela has reached Trinidad and Tobago in oil spill | Oil and Gas News

Caracas is warning of environmental and economic damage amid growing tensions with its neighbor.

Venezuela has criticized the oil spill that it says is coming from the neighboring Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago and has reached its shores.

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the spill is putting fragile species at risk and disrupting fisheries.

The incident threatens to continue crisis partnership between the two countries. Caracas was angered when the new government of Trinidad said it supported the actions of the United States that led to the impeachment of the former president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

“There is a threat to marine ecosystems and fishing activities and coastal areas,” the ministry said in a statement, which required Trinidad and Tobago to “take full responsibility for the adoption of other disaster prevention measures,” and identify “the causes, extent, and consequences of the spill”.

The government in the capital, Port of Spain, responded that it had sent security agencies to find the alleged leak and requested Venezuelan arrangements.

“The Air Guard and the Coast Guard have been sent to carry out maritime surveillance and with drones to find out the facts,” Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal told Reuters.

The island’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also contacted the Venezuelan embassy in Port of Spain for more information, Moonilal said.

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

The small English-speaking country of Trinidad and Tobago is located just 10 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela.

Relations between the neighbors have been strained since Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar returned to power last year and took on Venezuelan immigration. He also worked to strengthen relations with the US, before Maduro was arrested in January.

The oil spill is said to be similar to what happened in February 2024, when a tanker sank in waters off Trinidad and Tobago and pollution spread into waters off Venezuela.