LatinNews Daily - 13 February 2024

*Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, has announced that the UN is reallocating existing resources to support the authorities with the immediate clean-up efforts following a massive oil spill in Trinidad & Tobago, from an unidentified vessel that overturned off the coast of Tobago on 7 February. On 11 February Trinidad & Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced a national emergency in response to the spill. In a press conference he said the response would “have to be funded as an extraordinary expense. … You've got to find the money and prioritise. This is a priority because we have to respond, and we don’t know the full scope and scale of what is going to be required.” According to Dujarric, an emergency meeting is under way led by Joanna Kazana, the UN resident coordinator in Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, with the Tobago emergency management agency to discuss the current needs. According to Dujarric, “while the Government-led containment of the vessel leak is nearly under control, we are boosting support for the community-level clean-up”. He added that “we are also gearing up towards addressing the long-term environmental and economic impacts, ensuring a comprehensive response to safeguard local livelihoods and Tobago’s vital tourist sector.”