Antigua and Barbuda PM Gaston Browne meets Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro at Caracas summit

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne on December 14 met Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, the capital of the Latin American nation, for a key regional summit. Browne was among representatives of 10 full member-states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of our America – People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) and those from invited nations like Haiti, Palestine, and Honduras.

The event occurred at the Convention Center of La Carlota Air Base in the Venezuelan capital. The December edition of the summit marked the completion of two decades for the bloc, founded in 2004 by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, the late leaders of Venezuela and Cuba, respectively. ALBA-TCP was established to counter the United States’s proposal to create a “free trade zone of the Americas”. 

#InVideo📹| Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, arrived in #Venezuela to attend the ALBA-TCP Summit, which will be held this #14Dec in Caracas. pic.twitter.com/DrKuqUe4QD

— Embassy of Venezuela in Antigua and Barbuda (@EmbaVEAntigua) December 14, 2024

Leaders discussed key geopolitical issues at the summit apart from exploring opportunities that would lead to increased collaboration under the guiding principles of solidarity and social justice. 

PM Browne proposed strengthening tourism among the member states of ALBA-TCP during the summit and stressed the importance of boosting tourism in the Caribbean and encouraging exchanges in the sector to promote interaction among the countries in the region. 

“At this moment, we need to deepen our integration ties to tackle economic challenges,” the PM said.  

The Antigua and Barbuda PM also took the opportunity to slam measures and sanctions that have been imposed against Venezuela and Cuba. He reiterated his country's condemnation of the sanctions against Venezuela and Nicaragua and the embargo on Cuba. 

Antigua and Barbuda supports President Maduro

PM Browne also said St John’s doesn’t recognize any other president of Venezuela other than Maduro, who succeeded his mentor Chavez after he died in 2013. “We continue to support Venezuela and its elected president, Nicolas Maduro,” he said. 

“We condemn interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs. Venezuela has only one president, and that is Nicolás Maduro,” the visiting prime minister added. 

In 2018, Antigua and Barbuda said it was excluded from the US’s visa-renewal waiver because it supported the Maduro government, which is not recognized by Washington DC. 

#EnVideo 📹 | Así fue la intervención del primer ministro de Antigua y Barbuda, Gaston Browne, en la Cumbre del ALBA-TCP.#Venezuela #16Dic pic.twitter.com/9ZnpvIYJMY

— ALBA-TCP (@ALBATCP) December 16, 2024

Maduro said at the summit, "We must win the battle of life and truth in the streets, networks, media, and walls, as well as in the conscience and spirituality of the people."

The member-states of the bloc include, apart from Venezuela, Cuba and Antigua and Barbuda, Nicaragua, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St Vincent and Grenadines, St Lucia and Grenada. Antigua and Barbuda became a member of the bloc, along with St Vincent and Grenadines, in 2009. 

Diplomatic relations between Antigua and Barbuda and Venezuela were established in March 1983 and the two share close ties in the energy sector.