CARIBBEAN-Trinidad and Tobago PM tells regional countries, “who vex loss”.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister told regional leaders on Tuesday, “who vex loss” as she reiterated her full support for the United States military presence in the Caribbean in helping to deal with the illegal drug trade, while also criticising the existing political situation in Cuba.

Addressing the ceremonial opening of the 50th ordinary meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Persad-Bissessar took yet another turn in the regional integration movement, calling for the Caribbean to be declared a zone of peace.

She said the decision by Washington to send its military into the Caribbean Sea to help stem the flow of illegal drugs to the North American country had paid dividends for her Caribbean island, as she linked the high murder toll in the oil-rich twin island republic to the drug trade.

“So again, I repeat…who vex loss. But we gained. We benefited from the … military help, and I will welcome them again. So we changed the policy, and we were able to bring those murders down by 42 per cent, as I say, that’s 257 fewer people who would have been dead had we not taken that course of action,” she told the ceremony. Watch video 

Insisting that her administration is supportive of the 15-member CARICOM grouping, Persad-Bissessar sought to recall instances that questioned the grouping’s sincerity.

“We respect the sovereign right of CARICOM members, with respect to your choice for national security, for your nation, and respect to your choice for foreign policy…and we expect no less from others.”

She said Trinidad and Tobago “took very careful note” of what happened in CARICOM in 2025 when her government chose to lend support then to the Nicholas Maduro regime in Venezuela. Despite repeated threats against two fellow CARICOM members from Venezuela, most regional countries stood against them.

She said that she had “openly” stated that, in the ongoing border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, “if they touch Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago will be there with you and stand with you”.

She said Trinidad Tobago was threatened, “and we are still threatened by Venezuela,” adding “so how could a CARICOM come be a zone of peace when a narco- dictator who imprisoned and killed thousands of civilians and opposition members” because of politics.

“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. And 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 in the above situation…we cannot bind ourselves to the same political ideologies, the same foreign issues and the same security policies…”

She welcomed the position outlined by the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, at the ceremony, when he spoke of CARICOM as a grouping of independent countries pursuing what’s best for their respective countries, even while being part of the regional grouping.

“.. I also have to face the reality of what is happening in my own country, in Trinidad and Tobago, and so I welcome the words of Prime Minister Holness when he spoke of the balanced way he approached CARICOM.

“We all have different pathways to walk, but our destination, our goal, our aim, is the same. It’s for a better quality of life for people in our country and across the region.

“So, Trinidad and Tobago today, we reaffirm our commitment to remain a vested partner in the work of CARICOM, but I also like to take an opportunity for a short time to speak openly and constructively for the benefit of all the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.”

She said that in October 2022, a situation that “remains very unsettling to me” occurred when the Trinidad and Tobago government coordinated the kidnapping of a Trinidadian citizen from another CARICOM state.

“He was visiting another CARICOM state, and he was kidnapped. Our Supreme Court has ruled that he was kidnapped. He was placed in handcuffs, transported to the airport, and went back to Trinidad. I think an RSS (Regional Security System) plane was used to transport him. He was kidnapped.”

She said that as Opposition Leader, she wrote to the CARICOM Secretariat.

“That’s 2022, …I wrote to the Secretariat asking what happened. How could you have facilitated the kidnapping of a Trinidad and Tobago citizen?

“Please let us know what was happening and how it happened. To date, that was 2022. I have not had a response from the Secretariat. So I say to CARICOM that response, non-response, it may be the result of poor management, lack of accountability, or, most concerning, that one ceases to be recognised by the Secretariat as a member of CARICOM, when not in government.

“And so I want to reaffirm that the CARICOM should be the voice for all, not just for the governing parties, not just for those in the Caribbean who form government parties. And so I’d ask you: we have to part ways with the charter way forward.

“Yes, we won our elections. Yes, we are the majority parties. All of us here, all the heads, but we were all in opposition once, and we may all be in opposition again. Still, we must work together for all our nations, all our citizens, whether they belong to the governing party or the opposing parties. ”

Persad-Bissessar said that she is still very much concerned that a Trinidad and Tobago national was “kidnapped in another CARICOM state, and when I inquired, the Secretariat could not give me an answer up to today, that should never happen.

“CARICOM as an organisation, should not be misused by anyone to benefit or protect political parties and friends affiliated with the incumbent governments…and their political parties who actively involve themselves in the domestic and political affairs of member states to assist sister or brother.

“Parties cannot then expect that when we come together, we must hug each other. When in the last election you sent your missives, you sent your people from your party to openly campaign against another political party,” she added.

“I don’t think that is right, because today I will have to face you. We are not red, and we are not yellow, we are blue, we are not green. We are all CARICOM persons, and we must give that respect to every single one.

“And no leader here sitting would want another CARICOM head of state to send people to campaign in your domain? That should never happen. So that has led to unneeded factional divisions and private conflicts between regional leaders and political parties. ”

Persad-Bissessar, who is due to hold bilateral talks with visiting United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio on Wednesday, said that Trinidad and Tobago “will continue to cooperate with the US in the best interest of our citizens, to drive destabilising and destructive forces out of our country, out of our region and out of our hemisphere, unless you’re full and free movement,

“I know we are all committed to full and free movement. I know several CARICOM islands are moving forward with that.

“So at this time …we are fully committed, in principle, to the full and free movement…and then there’s a global focus on Cuba right here.

“Let me remind you and us, every single leader in this room was elected by a free and fair, democratic election, everyone, everyone in our countries. And so I ask, why do some CARICOM governments and political parties believe that they and their parties and their supporters should have the right to contest democratic elections to choose them as leaders, when the Cuban citizens have no right to free and fair elections?

She said no CARICOM country would entertain dictatorial governments, adding, “not one of us, otherwise we wouldn’t be here today.

“We were all elected by free and fair elections, and so we cannot advocate for others to live under communism and dictatorship, but we want to live here in our CARICOM region, under democracy and capitalism. That’s an oxymoron for us: we want free democracy.

“And as you said, Prime Minister Holness, we have to find a mechanism for the humanitarian efforts of the people of Cuba. But at the same time, we cannot, and I will not …support a dictatorship in Cuba or anywhere else. We will not support it.

“We support regular, free, and fair, democratic elections in a multi-party system. We are all citizens. Must have equality before the law. There must be the rule of law, majority rule, and minority rights. We must have the separation of powers and the checks and balances. We must have accountability and transparency. We must have freedom of expression and association, and for us in Trinidad and Tobago, we must have capitalism.

“We will not support dictatorship,” she said, noting that the situation in Haiti, a member of CARICOM, is also dire.

“In Haiti, democracy continues to be under threat. For decades, we have been saying …we are sorry, and we are still sorry decades and decades after armed gangs, political collapse, food insecurity have converged to overwhelm democracy and create a protracted emergency.

We in Trinidad and Tobago support the United States and Panama’s proposed gang suppression force to subdue violent gangs and to help restore order. In Haiti, we are committed to sharing the burden with the US, Panama, and other willing countries to assist the gang suppression force in bringing peace to Haiti. We have to come together to help them,” she added.

Download video – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar