ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) — Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says the weekend events in Venezuela have not advanced the causes of any parties nor have it narrowed differences, and instead “is pushing the region into more instability”.

“We again reiterate our position diplomacy, dialogue, negotiation, and compromise are the only means of achieving any sustainable, long-term resolution to differences,” Mitchell said on the
Grenada Broadcasting Network’s Beyond the Headlines programme Monday night.

Last weekend, the United States (US) military invaded Venezuela and seized President Nicolas Maduro on allegations of being involved in the illegal drugs trade.

Maduro and his wife appeared in a Federal Court in New York on Monday, where they both pleaded not guilty to the charges. The matter has been adjourned March 17 this year.

The 25 page indictment accuses Maduro and others of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States They could face life in prison if convicted.

Mitchell, an attorney, told television viewers that all parties should respect international norms, the rules of international engagement, and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries in the Western Hemisphere and the Americas.

“That is the only way we will make progress…whenever differences arise between certain countries or amongst countries,” he said.

Commenting on Washington’s announcement that it intends to “run” Venezuela following the removal of President Maduro, Michelle said, “I don’t think I have a response to that. The only way a country can run another country, let me put it this way… a country runs its own country and the only way you can run another country is if that territory belongs to that country or is a colony of that country.“

He added: “I think really it is for the officials in the US government to explain what they mean by those statements. I am not in a position to comment on what it means.”

Mitchell told Grenadians that his administration was reviewing a memorandum of understanding proposed by Washington regarding the acceptance of third-country nationals as “safe third countries”, as the United States seek to shift asylum processing away from the North American country.

He said that no agreement has been reached, acknowledging also that while the US has approached several Caribbean countries with this proposal, Grenada has not committed to the arrangement.

On Monday, both Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda announced that they had reached agreement with the United States to facilitate third country refugees.

“I believe this will further deepen our longstanding relationship and signal clearly that Dominica remains a willing and reliable partner of the United States in the region,” said Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

For its part, Antigua and Barbuda said it has not entered into any “binding agreement with the United States to accept deportees or refugees”.

“What exists is a non-binding memorandum of understanding proposed by the United States, as part of its global efforts to share responsibility for refugees already present in its territory. Antigua and Barbuda was approached by the United States, along with more than one hundred governments worldwide, including several within the Caribbean Community , to consider this non-binding arrangement,” the government said in its statement.

Supporters of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro held a rally in Caracas to demand his release from custody in the United States, a day after his capture by US forces during airstrikes on Caracas. (Photo: AFP)