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Kamla blasts CARICOM
…backs U.S. sovereignty
…says regional body not a reliable partner
(Kaieteur News) – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has criticised the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), calling the regional organisation “not a reliable partner at this time” following the United States’ announcement of partial entry restrictions on nationals of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica on 16 December.
In a media statement issued on Saturday, Persad-Bissessar underscored that Trinidad and Tobago is not a party to the CARICOM Bureau’s statement expressing concern over the restrictions.
Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar
She argued that every sovereign state must be prepared to accept the consequences of its foreign and domestic policy choices and defended the US action as a measured response to the operations of Citizenship by Investment programmes in Antigua and Dominica.
“CARICOM cannot continue to operate in this dysfunctional and self-destructive manner,” Persad-Bissessar said. She highlighted what she described as poor management, lax accountability, factional divisions, destabilising policies, and inappropriate meddling in domestic politics by some member states. The Prime Minister added that the organisation’s support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela, which has been accused of human rights violations and threats against CARICOM members, further undermines its credibility.
The Prime Minister insisted that Trinidad and Tobago will put its national interest first, asserting that CARICOM will not determine the country’s future. “The citizens of our country will choose our path,” she said, framing the dispute as a test of national sovereignty and regional solidarity.
The statement comes after a public exchange of criticism within Trinidad and Tobago. Former Prime Minister Stuart Young accused Persad-Bissessar of harming CARICOM and undermining bilateral relations with the US, calling her government’s handling of the matter “disturbing” and “flippant.” Former Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Minister Amery Browne echoed the criticism, describing Persad-Bissessar as “unprincipled” and accusing her of using public rhetoric to suppress dissent and evade accountability.
Persad-Bissessar defended her position, asserting that the Trinidad and Tobago government maintains its own independent foreign policy, separate from CARICOM’s political ideologies or security and economic policies. She said that the US restrictions should be seen as consequences of the actions of other nations, and reiterated the need for transparency and honesty in evaluating CARICOM’s role as a regional body.
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