LatinNews Daily - 04 September 2026

*Trinidad & Tobago’s foreign minister, Sean Sobers, has paid a visit to Venezuela amid efforts to reduce tensions between the two countries, which share three cross-border natural gas fields – Loran/Manatee, Dragon/Hibiscus, and Manakin/Cocuina. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia issued a statement saying that he and Sobers “designed a work agenda to facilitate the start of a new era in the relationship between both countries”. He added that “the work agenda is a route for cooperation in priority areas: trade, to deepen the exchange and growth of both countries; energy, to take advantage of the natural resources that our territories offer; agriculture, to promote food security; the environment, to guarantee sustainable development and the protection of the Caribbean’s environment; culture, to deepen integration between our peoples; and finally, collective security”. Bilateral relations have deteriorated sharply since Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar took office in May 2025. Her strong support for US military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug trafficking boats led Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026) to announce the suspension of energy cooperation between the two countries in October 2025.