Venezuela’s President Visits Barbados Seeking Oil And Gas Investments

• Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, met on Monday, April 27, 2026, with Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley and invited her administration to invest in energy production in the South American country. Rodríguez's visit to Barbados marks her second official visit to a Caribbean island in recent weeks after visiting Grenada on April 9, 2026.
• Venezuela invited Barbados to invest in oil and gas exploration and to expand hydrocarbon production, with Rodríguez noting that the partnership could help provide energy security for Barbados.
• According to Mottley, Barbados currently faces a “very difficult time” for energy security, and as such, she welcomed the investment opportunity. “We want our cooperation to extend also beyond fossil fuels to … renewable energy,” Mottley said. Their meeting also included discussions on partnering in food production, boosting tourism, and improving trade.
• This initiative comes against a broader regional backdrop, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the ongoing Middle East conflict is deepening economic vulnerabilities across the Caribbean, particularly for energy-importing economies, with rising oil prices expected to increase fuel, transport, and food costs.
• While some commodity-exporting countries may benefit, most Caribbean economies face worsening external balances and tighter fiscal space, contributing to a more uneven regional outlook. As a result, energy security is becoming a central policy priority across the region, reinforcing the importance of partnerships such as the Venezuela–Barbados initiative.

(Sources: AP News & IMF)