INTERNATIONAL relations expert Prof Andy Knight says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her government do not appear to understand the real agenda of the US towards Venezuela.

He expressed this view in relation to a statement by Persad-Bissessar on August 23, which supported the deployment of US naval vessels in the southern Caribbean Sea, outside of Venezuela's territorial waters. In her statement, Persad-Bissessar also said if the US requested use of TT territory for military operations should Venezuela invade Guyana, TT would grant such a request.

Guyana and Venezuela have had a longstanding border dispute over the Essequibo region between them, which stretches back decades.