00:00My delegation addresses this council today as a Caribbean nation, a neighbor of Venezuela, and a long-standing advocate for peaceful coexistence and the rule of law.
00:13Trinidad and Tobago having its voice heard via its permanent representative to the United Nations, Dr. Neil Parson, during the UN Security Council's emergency meeting on Venezuela at the UN headquarters in New York.
00:27The delegation of Trinidad and Tobago wishes to underscore its long-standing relationship with both the United States and Venezuela and stands ready to work collaboratively with all partners who share the aspiration of a safer, more prosperous and stable hemisphere.
00:49As the UN Security Council held its emergency meeting, Nicolas Maduro insisted he is still the president of Venezuela, according to U.S. media reports, as he pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism and weapons charges as he appeared before a U.S. district judge in New York.
01:07The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, spoke about U.S. forces having taken Mr. Maduro and his wife from their home in Venezuela on Saturday.
01:17As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades.
01:40Venezuela's representative, Samuel Monsada, called on the U.S. to immediately release Mr. and Mrs. Maduro.
01:48Mr. President, we cannot ignore a central element of this U.S. aggression. Venezuela is the victim of these attacks because of its natural resources.
01:58Our country's oil, energy, strategic resources and geopolitical position have historically been factors of greed and external pressure.
02:08Trinidad and Tobago's representative at the U.N. spoke just one day after Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Besessa said on the social media platform X that what happened in Venezuela has nothing to do with Trinidad and Tobago.
02:22The government of Trinidad and Tobago has taken note of the military operations undertaken by the United States in Venezuela.
02:31We remain committed to cooperative efforts led by the United States to disrupt and dismantle networks that enable transnational crime across the Americas, whose activities have had debilitating effects on the security and stability of the region.
02:54Dr. Pesad-Besessa maintained the government's position outlined by Prime Minister Pesad-Besessa on Sunday.
03:00The government of Trinidad and Tobago, while valuing its long-standing and robust partnership with the United States, remains equally committed to maintaining a constructive and respectful relationship with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
03:19and continues to uphold peaceful relations with the people of Venezuela.
03:25Venezuela's ambassador to the U.N. confirmed that former Vice President Delce Rodriguez has been sworn in as acting president of Venezuela.
03:34On Sunday, Venezuela's acting president invited the U.S. government to collaborate with Venezuela's government on an agenda of cooperation.
03:44Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
