There is clearly some unease in Washington with the increasingly close ties between Jamaica and Venezuela. In the last few years Jamaican Governments formed by both political parties have actively engaged the South American country through several initiatives including the Petro Caribe oil deal. In fact Prime Minister Bruce Golding was in Caracas last weekend where he obtained better terms for Jamaica under the agreement. But in an exclusive interview with RJR News, US Ambassador Brenda LeGrange-Johnson hinted at some difficulty in the relationship. 'We certainly can't tell your Prime Minister should do his foreign affairs...Venezuela is not an enemy, it's a country we have bilateral relations with, we have open discussions with it. Chavez has his own opinion which we don't agree with but...it's very hard. We don't want the situation with Venezuela to be a hindrance in our relationship with the Jamaicans,' she said. However Ambassador LeGrange-Johnson insists there was no tension in the relationship and that she spoke to the Prime Minister Thursday morning. Since President Hugo Chavez came to power in Venezuela the relationship between Caracas and Washington has deteriorated significantly.
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