Char­tered ac­coun­tant and for­mer min­is­ter in the Min­istry of Fi­nance, Mar­i­ano Browne, be­lieves that the vis­it of Venezuela’s act­ing Pres­i­dent Del­cy Ro­dríguez to Grena­da and Bar­ba­dos last month shows that “Venezuela is open for busi­ness” and that T&T is not a top pri­or­i­ty for them.

In an in­ter­view with the Busi­ness Guardian, Browne said that Ro­dríguez is now in the dri­ver’s seat, holds the reins of po­lit­i­cal and eco­nom­ic pow­er in Venezuela and she is now dis­play­ing that she is in charge.

“The act­ing Pres­i­dent of Venezuela is mak­ing sev­er­al points. She is the de fac­to and de ju­re leader of Venezuela and there­fore can in­ter­act with Cari­com coun­tries with­out ask­ing for per­mis­sion of any­one. Venezuela is open for busi­ness and will­ing to do busi­ness with Cari­com coun­tries and she has the au­thor­i­ty to make such de­ci­sions.”