Antigua on Saturday formed a “strategic alliance” with Venezuela that will see Caracas taking a 25% stake in the West Indies Oil Company, setting up a regional bank and constructing a resort among other ventures.
It was the latest swing through the Caribbean by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who has been on a campaign in Caricom to win support for Caracas’ position in its border controversy with Guyana. On Friday, Maduro clinched a rice deal with Suriname and he was scheduled to be in St Lucia yesterday. Visits by him and other senior government officials have already been made to other Caricom countries including Trinidad, Grenada and St Kitts.
Analysts have expressed concern that the deals that Maduro is making in Caricom will
