No visa restrictions on Venezuelans, says St Kitts-Nevis’ Douglas

The leader of the opposition in St Kitts and Nevis has urged Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders not to impose visa restrictions on Venezuelans.

Denzil Douglas made the comments after the prime minister of St Lucia, Allen Chastanet, said he is considering imposing visa restrictions on Venezuelans visiting the island.

The decision relates to the current political unrest in the South American country, where opposition forces are seeking to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.

But Douglas, who was prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis from 1995 to 2015, said that the move would be “unprecedented”, and that “it is very unfortunate the situation has reached to this”.

“I think it is really a difficult one for me to contemplate in the sense that aren’t we going to further isolate Venezuela if this is to be pursued and I would advise that the CARICOM leaders at this time pay very, very close attention to a decision of this kind,” the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party leader told the Caribbean Media Corporation.

WIC News has reached out to the government of St Kitts and Nevis for their stance on the matter.

Concerns over safety

On Monday, the St Lucian prime minister revealed his plans during a press conference.

Citing an increase in people bringing drugs and weapons to the island, Chastanet said: “I don’t think that we should make it any easier than the logistics already have for Venezuelans to come here.”

[caption id="attachment_2091" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Allen Chastanet.[/caption]

The changes will go ahead “barring any impediment”, he added.

But Douglas said the regional leaders should “think mainly on how it can affect the people of Venezuela, especially those who are genuinely attempting to move from a situation that has become almost too difficult to handle.

“Venezuela has been a friend of the Caribbean over the years and even though it has gone through difficult period of economic and financial crisis we have seen Venezuela basically open its heart to the people of the Caribbean.”

Intervention?

Chatanet’s plans don’t seem to have earned much support in St Lucia, and the opposition St Lucia Labour Party hit back at plans to “casually” make the decision.

“It is something that I believe the government should take to the parliament and let’s have an honest debate about what should be done in this particular case,” said former foreign minister Alva Baptiste.

But one thing all sides agree on – including Denzil Douglas – is that military intervention should be avoided.

“Obviously this [military action] is not something that we would contemplate at all in the Caribbean region, something that we would want to accept,” said Douglas.

“I believe that the people of the Caribbean and the leaders of the Caribbean would want to urge the United States government and specifically the remark made by President Trump to be seen as an extreme situation.

“We know that things are very difficult, but at the end of the day we do not think that military intervention would be the solution to the problem in Venezuela.”

Donald Trump has previously said he has not ruled out a “military option” to quell the chaos in the South American country, expressing unhappiness with Venezuela’s continent assembly elections at the end of July.