St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves yesterday said the foreign militarisation of the waters around Venezuela is “exceedingly troubling”, and called for a “scaling back” of these actions.

Addressing the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting yesterday in New York, Gonsalves described the recent ramping-up of tensions between the US and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as most unhelpful to peace and stability in the Caribbean and Latin America.

“St Vincent and the Grenadines call for the scaling back of actions and rhetoric which are so inimical to cordial neighbourly relations. In particular, we find the foreign militarisation of the waters around Vene­zuela exceedingly troubling,” he said.