Voice of Guyana International

GEORGETOWN, Guyana Caribbean nations will likely support Venezuela in its bid for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council despite lobbying efforts for the post by U.S.-backed candidate Guatemala, a key regional diplomat said Tuesday.Most members of the 15-nation Caribbean Community are set to back Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s bid, Guyana’s Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally said before leaving for the weeklong summit of the Nonaligned Movement that began Monday in Havana.

Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal visited seven of the island nations in August to seek support. Neither his efforts, nor those of Guatemala’s backers in Washington — who want to keep fierce U.S. critic Chavez off the decision-making body — seem to have paid off.