On the occasion of the 212th anniversary of the Independence of Venezuela last week, Saint Lucia has — yet again — reiterated its full support for the Bolivarian Republic’s unconditional right to choose its own path of development, free from external pressure.
This position was reiterated on the night of July 5th by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire, as he addressed a special independence anniversary activity organized by the Venezuelan Embassy at the Finance Administration Complex in Castries.
Addressing the opening ceremony, the deputy prime minister reiterated the position outlined by Saint Lucia after winning the July 26, 2021 General Elections, when, in its first foreign policy announcement, the island resurrected diplomatic ties with Venezuela, which had been buried under the previous administration.
Dr Hilaire said Saint Lucia’s ties with Venezuela flow back over two centuries to the days of the fight for Venezuela’s independence, when the heroic shipwright from Desruisseaux, Jean Baptiste Bideau, fought with the legendary Simon Bolivar for the South American nation’s liberation against the Spanish colonial and imperial order.
Bolivar and Venezuela would pursue and gain freedom for several other neighboring nations, including Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama between 1819 and 1825.
Saint Lucia has maintained cordial ties with Venezuela under successive administration on both sides since independence in 1979, when Venezuela was one of the very first nations to open an embassy here.
Since then Saint Lucia has benefitted from various types of Venezuelan cooperation, ranging from Spanish language classes to support for the Saint Lucia Music School and the Castries Football Federation, as well as from scholarships, free computers for students and teachers, construction of bridges in the north and south of the country.
Saint Lucia also benefitted from the PetroCaribe energy project until it became unsustainable as a result of external political pressure and trade sanctions.
This year, Saint Lucia also participated in the ALBA Games for the first time, with local sports enthusiasts looking forward to continuity of participation in years ahead.
Dr Hilaire said Saint Lucia will continue to defend and support Venezuela’s right to define its future, over and beyond ideological considerations, as Bideau’s contributions and presence constructed ties that preceded current geopolitical considerations.
Also addressing the first part of the activity was Venezuela’s hardworking Ambassador to Saint Lucia, Leiff Escalona, who again expressed her country’s fullest appreciation of Saint Lucia’s re-establishment of full diplomatic ties with the Bolivarian Republic two years ago in July 2021.
Monsignor Dr Patrick Anthony set the night off with prayers in English, Kweyol and Spanish; and the event was also attended by Acting Governor General Cyril Errol Melchiades Charles and his predecessor, Dame Pearlette Louisy.
The activity was attended too by Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to Venezuela Peter Lansiquot, Mexico’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia Luis Manuel Lopez Martino, Vice consul of the Brazilian Embassy Mrs Ana Machado Godoi, Deputy Chief of the Morocco Embassy Said Ait Talebe Ali and Director of Alliance Francoise (AF) Sophie Picavet.
Vieux Fort Mayor Cyril Saltibus and President of the Saint Lucia-Cuba Humanistic Solidarity Association Marlene Alexander were also among the long list of invited guests from the public and private sectors, including the Saint Lucia School of Music and the local artistic community.
Many Venezuelan citizens and business persons resident here, as well as Cuban doctors and other Saint Lucians with historical ties with Venezuela, also attended.
The second part of the anniversary celebration was a musical repertoire by a trio including Daniel Petrocelli, Kervis Mosqueda and Juan Echeverria, who together wowed the crowd with 13 selections of unique mixes of indigenous Caribbean, South American, European and African folk rhythms.
Ambassador Escalona, on her second tour of duty here, says the embassy “intends to continue to resume ties to earlier levels” that saw more friendship and solidarity between the two people of fellow Caribbean states.
Venezuela was also honored by CARICOM leaders at their summit in Trinidad & Tobago that coincided with its anniversary, with the Heads of State calling for lifting of sanctions against Caracas to allow member-states to benefit from friendly ties and fruitful trade with Venezuela.
In the Final Communique from the summit, the CARICOM Leaders, including Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, “Urged the removal of the sanctions on Venezuela to allow countries in the region to benefit from the Petro-Caribe Initiative; and for further progress on the exploration of the cross-border natural gas fields between Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela.”
They didn’t name any country, but the message of quiet CARICOM diplomacy was loud and clear!
Meanwhile, Venezuela also hosted Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley on an official visit during the anniversary celebrations in Caracas.