Venezuela Says Oil Spill Caused Serious Damage

Venezuela said this weekend that an oil spill originating in Trinidad and Tobago, two islands just off its coast, has caused serious environmental damage along the coastlines of at least two of its states and in a gulf area near the Caribbean nation. The extent of the spill was disputed Sunday by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, which said that only 10 barrels were spilled and that it was contained on May 1, the same day it was detected, the AP reports.

Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said late Saturday in a letter addressed to the international community that initial assessments found "severe risks" to ecosystems in the states of Sucre and Delta Amacuro and in the Gulf of Paria. It said the spill poses a threat to mangroves, wetlands and the environmental balance of the region. The Venezuelan government requested information about the plan for mitigating and containing the spill, and demanded reparations measures in accordance with international environmental law, the official statement added.

Trinidad and Tobago's government and the state oil company that detected the spill didn't disclose it until after the complaint by Venezuelan authorities. They said there was initial concern that the "hydrocarbon material could cross the Trinidad/Venezuelan border in the Gulf of Paria." But they added that the spill was quickly contained. Venezuela and the Caribbean nation—who in the 1990s signed a delimitation treaty establishing the terms for exploiting any hydrocarbon deposits on both sides of the border strip—share the Gulf of Paria, an inland sea located at Venezuela's westernmost end and south of the island of Trinidad.