Trinidad PM brands Caricom “dysfunctional” amid dispute over US travel ban

The Prime Minister intensified her broadside attack on Caricom on Monday, describing the regional group as an “unreliable partner” and a “dysfunctional and self-destructive” organisation.

Triggering this latest excoriation was a statement by the Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom that suggested dialogue with the US government should be pursued following President Trump’s decision to limit the entry of citizens from Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica into the country.

Mrs Persad-Bissessar effortlessly linked a sensible call for discussion about the dramatic change in access to the US for Caribbean people with alignment with Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan government.

This fresh dismissal of Caricom amplified the PM’s previous position of rebuking it for insisting that the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace.

Her accusations were blunter and more pointed.

“The organisation is deteriorating rapidly due to poor management, lax accountability, factional divisions, destabilising policies, private conflicts between regional leaders and political parties, and the inappropriate meddling in the domestic politics of member states.”

This is a startling statement from the Prime Minister of the country currently designated as Caricom’s lead nation on energy, security and…cricket.

TT has been a key player in the continuance of the organisation, beginning with its endorsement as one of the original signatories to the Treaty of Chaguaramas, making this country the birthplace of the concept, with support running to its 2023 role as hosts of the 50th anniversary of Caricom.

It is a dramatic reversal and one that Caricom’s membership is still struggling to assess and respond to.

Some of those responses to this new perspective on regional relations have been, if not heated, certainly not warm or inviting.

Noting that TT is a major trade partner in the region, with estimated earnings of more than US$1.1 billion in trade with Caricom in 2024 alone, second only to the US, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda said, “Trinidad and Tobago faces some of the highest levels of organised crime in the Caribbean, and regional cooperation through Caricom security mechanisms, intelligence sharing, and coordinated law-enforcement initiatives has been an essential pillar of the response.”

Barbados’ Foreign Affairs Minister Kerrie Symmonds called on Caricom leaders to meet “behind closed doors” to discuss the current contretemps. Referring to the “uncompromising voice” in the Caricom room, Mr Symmonds urged dialogue in the face of regional uncertainty, though it’s unlikely that he expects TT’s PM to take part.

Encouraging the PM to be more temperate in her public utterances regarding Caricom seems almost pointless now. But at some point, the US military presence will leave the Caribbean.

TT should not hang its economic future only on the continued largesse from an increasingly fickle US government. To our closest regional trade partners, we have demonstrated our own unreliability, and that should factor into the PM’s communications strategy.

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