The outburst in St. Kitts

Feb 27, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – Online sources present clear evidence that the then Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar (KPB), attended the 2nd CELAC Summit held in Havana, Cuba in 2014. There are images showing her meeting the then Secretary General, Ban-Ki- Moon, a handshake with then Cuban President Raul Castro, and more importantly her signing the Proclamation of Latin America & Caribbean Creating a Zone of Peace.

The Proclamation signed by Trinidad and Tobago, explains a Zone of Peace as a region committed to peace based on international law and the United Nations Charter. This means that peace is more than just no war—it also involves respecting each country’s sovereignty, protecting borders, and following international rules and agreements.

The proclamation further establishes a permanent renunciation of the threat or use of force among states of the region. Disputes are to be settled exclusively through dialogue, negotiation, and other peaceful means consistent with international law. Finally, the Zone of Peace rests on strict non-intervention, full respect for sovereignty and self-determination, and a clear commitment to nuclear disarmament.

At the United Nations General Assembly last September, KPB contested the idea that the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace given its security realities. However, the concept of a Zone of Peace is not meant to suggest that the Caribbean is free from all security challenges or threats. Rather, it is a commitment by states to resolve disputes peacefully, respect sovereignty, and uphold international law. Statements like those raised by KPB at the United Nations General Assembly last September misinterpret the idea, equating the Zone of Peace with an absence of danger, when in reality it is a legal and principled framework for promoting stability and cooperation despite existing security realities.

But the criticisms did not end there. At the just-concluded CARICOM Summit in St Kitts, KPB was reported as questioning whether CARICOM can really be a zone of peace when the stability of its members is constantly threatened by a narco-dictator in Venezuela that killed thousands of civilians and imprisoned hundreds of opposition members.

She was quoted as saying, “So how can it be when that regime was threatening violence to two CARICOM member states? There was no voice from the CARICOM. We were talking about a zone of peace. But in my respectful view, my country is not a zone of peace, and I’ll tell you why. Because of the unreliability of the CARICOM and the above situation. We cannot bind ourselves to the same political ideologies, the same foreign issues and the same security policies of the entire CARICOM.”

The facts however tell a different story. CARICOM has repeatedly and unequivocally affirmed its support for Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Venezuelan threats, consistently calling on Venezuela to respect international law and the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the long-running controversy. The Community has condemned Venezuelan actions seen as aggressive (such as unilateral laws annexing territory, threats to Guyana’s maritime and Essequibo region, and planned elections in disputed areas), urged peaceful resolution through law and court process, and reiterated its backing for Guyana’s rights and lawful dispute settlement rather than force or provocation.

In September 2025, tensions rose between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Venezuela’s Defence Minister warned that Caracas would respond in “legitimate defence” if attacks came from Trinidad and Tobago or Guyana. The warning followed increased U.S. military activity in the Caribbean, including naval deployments and joint exercises. Venezuela portrayed these operations as hostile maneuvers aimed at destabilizing its government. It saw Trinidad and Tobago’s cooperation with the U.S. as potentially facilitating aggression.

In October, President Nicolás Maduro condemned the hosting of a U.S. warship and exercises, saying Trinidad and Tobago was acting in line with American strategy. Venezuela also suspended certain energy cooperation agreements. It accused external actors of plotting provocations from or near Trinidadian territory. Despite the tensions, Trinidad and Tobago insisted its actions were lawful exercises of sovereign security cooperation. The situation highlighted growing geopolitical strain in the region and the delicate balance between regional security and national sovereignty.

But it is not entirely accurate to say that CARCOM did not respond. It did in October 2025 when it issued a statement reaffirming the principle of maintaining the Caribbean region as a zone of peace and the importance of dialogue and engagement towards the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflict. The statement said that CARICOM remains willing to assist towards that objective.

What KPB needs to address is whether the American bombing of small vessels it says were ferrying narcotics constitutes a violation of the zone of peace; whether the kidnapping of Maduro is justified as a breach of the zone of peace and whether American bombing of Venezuela during that kidnapping does not violate the very proclamation which it signed in Havana in 2014 and which calls for respect for the sovereignty of states.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)      

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• CELAC Summit, Kamla Persad -Bissessar, Peeping Tom, Raul Castro, Zone of Peace

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