PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago is calling for a meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to deal with the reappointment of the Secretary General of the grouping, Dr. Carla Barnett, insisting that it was “deliberately uninvited” to the meeting where the agreement had been reached in St. Kitts and Nevis in February.
CARICOM and Foreign Affairs Minister Sean Sobers, speaking on the CNC3 Newscast on Tuesday evening, said that Port of Spain would seek a meeting of CARICOM to challenge the reappointment, and that fresh elections could also be placed on the table.
Trinidad and Tobago has said that three letters sent to the relevant personnel on the issue have all been ignored, with Sobers saying, “No acknowledgment and no response is very, very troubling.”
Sobers said this is especially egregious, considering Trinidad and Tobago’s annual contribution of more than TT$120 million (One TT dollar = 0.16 cents) to the regional bloc.
He told viewers that Trinidad and Tobago’s absence from the leaders’ Retreat, where the voting took place, was “no accidental oversight,” adding that the prime ministers of The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda had also left the CARICOM summit before its closure.
He said the leaders of the two countries would have, like Trinidad and Tobago, appointed someone to lead their delegation.
“However…none of us were invited to attend. It doesn’t matter. We were told that we were not able to attend, which is a breach of the treaty,” Sobers said, referring to Article 11.2 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguramas that states any head of government may designate a minister or other person to represent them at any meeting of the conference.
Article 27 states that the representative effectively exercises the member states’ vote, and Sobers said criticisms that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar should have stayed until the end of the four-day conference are moot because, under the treaty, he was head of the delegation and therefore should have been invited.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar has already condemned the “surreptitious and odious process” used regarding the reappointment of Barnett, saying it could have long-term effects for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
In a statement posted on her Facebook page, Persad-Bissessar said that she was again calling on the 15-member regional integration grouping “for transparency on the surreptitious and odious process used to reappoint” the Belizean-born economist for another five-year term.
“Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to CARICOM, but until this matter is transparently resolved, the organization and its secretariat should absolutely expect no quarter from my Government.”
Sobers told television viewers that this week Trinidad and Tobago will be calling for a meeting, a virtual one if needs be of the Community Council, which comprises Ministers responsible for CARICOM Affairs in member states and is the second highest organ of the Community, for the matter to be elevated to the level of the heads and for the election of the Secretary General to be re-examined.
He said an emergency meeting of the heads of government can be called at any time.
Late last month, in a brief statement, the CARICOM chairman and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, Dr Terrance Drew, said that Barnett had attained the “required majority” from among regional leaders regarding her reappointment at last month’s CARICOM summit held in Basseterre.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, who left the Basseterre summit before the Retreat of regional leaders on Nevis, said on March 25, Sobers wrote to Prime Minister Drew, “formally placing on record Trinidad and Tobago’s objection to the reappointment of Dr. Carla Barnett as Secretary-General of CARICOM.
“Our concern is straightforward: the proposed reappointment was not included on the provisional agenda for the Fiftieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in St. Kitts and Nevis, was not considered during plenary, and was reportedly addressed only during the Heads of Government Retreat…from which Trinidad and Tobago and other Member States were excluded through their authorized representatives.
“This raises serious concerns about the use of improper procedures to circumvent the process and facilitate Barnett’s reappointment,” Persad-Bissessar said, adding that “Trinidad and Tobago therefore maintains that the reappointment was not undertaken in accordance with Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which requires formal consideration and appointment by the Conference”.
She said to ensure full transparency, further letters dated March 31, 2026, were sent to Prime Minister Drew and directly to the Secretary-General seeking clarification on the process followed.
These letters requested details on when and how the matter was placed on draft agendas, what communications were issued to Member States, whether governments were informed following the Joint Communiqué and closing press conference, and whether any draft decision was circulated confidentially after the Retreat.
“They also sought an explanation for any confidentiality surrounding the matter, given the importance of preserving Member State confidence in CARICOM’s Rules of Procedure and collective decision-making.”
Persad-Bissessar said further, on March 31, 2026, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs wrote to Janice Miller, Chef-de-Cabinet, Office of the Secretary-General, “formally requesting clarification and documentation regarding the reappointment of the CARICOM Secretary-General.
“The letter noted that previous reappointments, such as in 2016, adhered to proper procedures, with decisions recorded and reflecting the views of all Heads of Government. The Permanent Secretary emphasized that the current process appears not to have conformed to CARICOM’s Rules of Procedure.
“To date, no response has been received. The people of Trinidad and Tobago, who finance 22 percent of CARICOM’s budget, deserve transparency, accountability, and faithful adherence to agreed rules,” Persad-Bissessar added.
Barnett became the eighth CARICOM Secretary General on August 15, 2021, by “unanimous appointment” of the regional leaders.
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