The event was jointly hosted by the Venezuelan Embassy in Saint Lucia and the Government of Saint Lucia, continuing a tradition that honours both the sacrifices of Venezuelan revolutionaries and the Saint Lucians who stood beside them.
Among those commemorated was Jean Baptiste Bideau, a native of Desruisseaux, who fought alongside General Simón Bolívar and is credited with saving the revolutionary leader’s life.
“Jean Baptiste Bideau was born in Desruisseaux. Many Saint Lucians don't know that,” said Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Peter Lansiquot. “And when Venezuela was fighting for its independence, that Saint Lucian had the great honour of saving the life of General Simón Bolívar.”
Ambassador Lansiquot emphasised the cultural and diplomatic strides made between the two countries, including Saint Lucia’s decision to formally designate an ambassador to Venezuela for the first time.
“We decided, for the first time, to do something that should have been done many, many years ago. And true to form, Honourable Philip J. Pierre made history when we decided to properly designate an ambassador of Saint Lucia to Venezuela.”
He further outlined Saint Lucia’s long-term vision of becoming a bilingual nation. “We have a dream in Saint Lucia that, between now and the next 50 years, all our Saint Lucian children should be speaking at least a second language, and that language is going to be Spanish.”
Venezuela’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, Leiff Escalona, celebrated the growing educational cooperation between the two nations.
“We have 12 teachers from Saint Lucia in Venezuela receiving different workshops. Four of them are from the special education program and will be in Venezuela from July 1 to July 12. Additionally, eight teachers from primary and secondary schools are being trained in the music curriculum.”
Saint Lucia is one of six sovereign member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) that also belongs to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), an initiative aimed at strengthening integration and cooperation between the Caribbean and Latin America.