Venezuelan National Assembly Deputy Jose Brito last night furthered criticism of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, accusing her of conspiring against Caricom and what he called “excessive consumption,” as tensions between Port of Spain and Caracas continue to grow.

The verbal critique from Brito comes days after she was declared ‘persona non grata’ by Venezuela’s government, and a halting of all gas deals between the two countries, shortly after a US warship (USS Gravely) docked on local shores.

Venezuela last week accused Trinidad and Tobago and Persad-Bissessar of conspiring against it as the Gravely arrived, alleging a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-funded plot to launch a “false-flag” attack from T&T waters, which it claimed would implicate it as friction grows in the Caribbean Sea.