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Security & Strategic Review - June 2026
VENEZUELA: Rodríguez looks for friends in the Caribbean
The Caribbean has been a central diplomatic priority of Venezuela’s President Delcy Rodríguez since she took office in early January. Her first two trips abroad as president were to Barbados and Grenada, and the third trip, to the Netherlands, was to testify in a territorial dispute with Guyana – a key player in the Caribbean Community (Caricom). A visit to Caracas by the foreign minister of Suriname swiftly followed. The Essequibo dispute with Guyana is undoubtedly a factor in Rodríguez’s efforts to shore up Venezuela’s Caribbean ties. Other motivations are also at play, however. Lacking widespread diplomatic support in the region, Rodríguez will be hoping to rebuild some of the Caribbean alliances that were forged by her predecessors Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) and, to a lesser extent, Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026), and which for a while made the Caribbean a key bastion of support for Venezuela’s ruling Chavismo movement.
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