Young: Venezuela deal still in place

Today, as Venezuela continues to grapple with shortage of food and medication, the effectiveness of the deal is unclear as some Venezuelans claim the agreement only benefits the Nicolas Maduro- led government and its supporters.

Young who was part of bilateral talks with the Venezuelan government in drafting the agreement, said while he did not have detailed information on the success of the agreement, he could confirm that provisions of the agreement are still in place.

“I don’t have much details but I am aware, based on correspondence with the Minister of Trade and the Venezuelan government, the provisions allowed under the agreement appear to be working. At least on three occasions, Trinidadian manufacturers have landed goods on the Eastern part of Venezuela and we have also received feedback from the Venezuelan market that the goods have arrived.” Despite this however, many businesses in Venezuela remain crippled by chronic shortage of goods which in turn has led to increased unrest especially in the capital Caracas.

Human-rights activist and head of humanitarian organisation Somos Organizaciones Sociales (SOS) Yesenia Gonzales said the agreement has not yielded any result as evidenced by continued disorder in Venezuela.

“The situation has not improved one bit, the only persons who really get to benefit from this arrangement are the government.

“Very few people see any improvement in the quality of life in Venezuela right now as grocery shelves remain empty. This is something that only few people seem to benefit from,” Gonzales said.

The trade deal which sought to boost the supply of much-needed goods in Venezuela was agreed during President Maduro’s vis