'My job is to keep Jamaica safe...not invite problems' says Holness amid calls for position on US capture of Venezuelan president

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has signalled caution amid calls for a definitive Jamaican stance on the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He has stressed that his priority is keeping the country "safe".

“We are living in changing times; uncertain times; uncharted waters in many instances,” he said at a church event on Wednesday. “My job… is to keep Jamaica safe. Not to steer into waters for which we don’t have to go. Not to invite problems on ourselves when we have our own problems to deal with.”

Holness did not make any direct mention of the dramatic January 3 seizure of Maduro by United States military forces.

But he said research will show that on the "many of the issues that are presently being discussed," Jamaica had “already taken its position long before others would have sought to enunciate any current position”.

“So, we give God thanks for keeping Jamaica safe in turbulent geopolitical and geo-economic times. We have navigated those waters very carefully, very skillfully and we will bring the ship of the Jamaican state to the destination of prosperity for which God has ordained,” the prime minister added.

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Holness also rejected suggestions that caution amounted to abandoning principle.

“This is not us recoiling from our principles and duties,” he said at the Heal the Family, Heal the Nation National Day of Prayer service in Portmore, St Catherine. “Jamaica has always been consistent and we have always been the strong voice of reason for small developing countries globally and continue to be.”

His remarks come as the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), regional leaders, and international observers debate sovereignty, the rule of international law, and Caribbean security.

The deadly US operation saw Maduro and his wife seized in Venezuela and transported to New York, where he leaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges on Monday.

US President Donald Trump said Washington will “run” the oil-rich nation temporarily, a move that has intensified regional concerns. He later told the New York Times that "only time will tell" how long his administration would "oversee" the running of the South American nation.

Maduro insisted in court that he remained Venezuela’s legitimate leader. “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country,” he said.

In January 2019, Jamaica sided with 18 other members of the Organization of American States in favour of a resolution not to recognise the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro's then new term as Venezuela's president.

In a subsequent statement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith said: "The Government of Jamaica, in supporting the resolution, acknowledges that the fundamental values and principles, including the maintenance of the rule of law, respect for human rights, and democracy, as well as non-intervention in the internal affairs of states, remain pertinent considerations".

She added that Jamaica's interest "has always been, and continues to be, that of the well-being of the people of Venezuela" and that Jamaica "stands ready to lend any support that may be deemed helpful and that could facilitate renewed dialogue to alleviate the serious challenges facing Venezuela".

Maduro was re-elected in 2024 in a poll that was widely disputed.

Meanwhile, the Opposition PNP this week urged the Government to “stand up for and unequivocally support” long-standing principles of international law and to be clear in its response to developments in Venezuela.

The party warned that force-driven regime change in the region poses serious risks and reaffirmed support for national sovereignty, strict limits on the use of force, and reliance on a rules-based international order. It also called on CARICOM to reassert its commitment to the Caribbean as a “Zone of Peace”.

CARICOM leaders have already expressed “grave concern”, urging diplomatic engagement while emphasising sovereignty, human dignity, and stability for the Venezuelan people.

Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, writing in the Jamaica Observer, contextualised the Maduro operation within what he described as a rapidly shifting and increasingly aggressive global order driven by Trump-era policies. According to Golding, the muted global response reflects fear and geopolitical dependence and places CARICOM governments in a “vice”.

“Taking a principled stance against Trump’s rampaging would almost certainly invite retribution… We are between a rock and a hard place,” he wrote, warning that regional leaders were vulnerable.

Golding argued that post-World War II norms designed to protect sovereignty, restrict unilateral force, and promote collective security are being eroded.

“We are not in uncharted waters. The threat of recolonisation is upon us, but we have been there before. We are in the waters that we were in 80 years ago. We tried and somehow managed to chart our way through. We will have to do that again,” he said.