PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The new Trinidad and Tobago government has moved to prevent a potential rift with the Gaston Browne administration in Antigua and Barbuda following the disappearance of a 21-year-old Trinidadian in St. John’s several weeks ago.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs said that the newly appointed minister, Sean Sobers, did not take any action “that would constitute interference in the internal affairs of Antigua and Barbuda” regarding the disappearance of Thomas Ronald Christopher Jageshar-Vasquez.
The statement followed Prime Minister Browne’s stinging rebuke that “elements” within the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) in his country had once again “joined with a foreigner to condemn our beautiful twin island state.”
Browne said that Sobers and the Trinidad-based Newsday newspaper “had no moral authority to condemn our beautiful country.
“Mr Sobers/Newsday, with more than 500 individuals missing in Trinidad & Tobago annually and hundreds unaccounted for, you…you should focus on the exponential increase in crime in your home country.
“Whereas we hope that the missing Trinidadian young man is safe, there is no evidence that he went missing in Antigua. He has had a history of entering the country by plane and leaving clandestinely by boat, ostensibly peddling marijuana from an illegal farm on which he worked here in Antigua,” Browne wrote on his Facebook page.
“Whereas we sympathize and empathize with his grieving mother and trust that he would be found alive, the facts needed to be stated. I stand always on the ugly truth without fear of consequences,” the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister wrote.
In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs here said that it was concerned about Thomas Vasquez and that in keeping with his duty to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, Sobers had directed ministry officials to engage with their counterparts on the island to obtain accurate and timely information regarding Vasquez’s welfare.
“Such engagement is both standard diplomatic practice and a reflection of the government’s unwavering commitment to the safety, dignity, and rights of all our citizens abroad. This government has discharged its responsibilities with professionalism, prudence, and firmness.”
The ministry said that both islands share strong, respectful, and enduring ties built on mutual respect and Caribbean solidarity principles.
“We continue to work constructively with our counterparts and thank them for their co-operation thus far. We expect all communication will remain in the bounds of respectful diplomacy,” the statement said, adding that Sobers will stand firm, act decisively, and represent the people of Trinidad and Tobago with honor and strength.
In its editorial on May 7, the NEWSDAY newspaper wrote, “Something troubling is happening in Antigua. People are going missing without a trace or explanation. Over the past decade, the list has become longer and longer. Dozens are involved. In 2013, a 24-year-old daughter disappeared. In 2017, a tourist went missing.
“In 2018, a 19-year-old son failed to turn up at a family gathering. Cases have even seen people vanish in public places: a 74-year-old woman who entered the Mount St John Medical Centre for routine tests in 2019 cannot be found.
“Into this bizarre maelstrom of mystery has been sucked Trinidad and Tobago national, Thomas-Vasquez, 21, whose perplexing case was confirmed on May 5, is engaging the attention of the new Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, Sean Sobers,” the editorial stated.
The paper said action by Antiguan police “seemed to come to a head only on April 30, when a man and woman were taken into custody, and a farm on which the missing person worked was searched. In the intervening period, there was silence.
“At one point, despite an official report and a prominent radio personality’s advocacy, police claimed to be unaware of the case. Distraught relatives in Trinidad have taken to social media; people making inquiries on their behalf say they have been met with hostility.
It is all part of a pattern.
“Officials in Antigua undoubtedly need to communicate better. But more than this, Minister Sobers’ intervention must be the start of a wider, regional effort for the sake of the families grappling with agonizing uncertain,” the editorial said.
Late last month, the mother of the 21-year-old Trinidadian, Candy Jageshar-Vasquez, said that her son “doesn’t deserve this.
“I want to know where he is. I am asking and begging the people of Antigua and Barbuda to please help me,” Jageshar-Vasquez said in an emotional appeal on the radio in St. John’s as the search continues for her son, Thomas Ronald Christopher Jageshar-Vasquez.
Thomas was last seen on April 15 when he was dropped off at a legal marijuana farm where he worked, one day after he had returned to Antigua for his third work stint on the island.
Last month, a search party led by the Concerned Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and including members of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force said a drone had spotted what appeared to be a potential lead, prompting police officers to join the search. However, nothing substantial had been found that could be linked to Vasquez’s disappearance.
Speaking on Observer Radio, Candy Vasquez told listeners that her son had lost his cell phone in Trinidad the night before traveling to Antigua, arriving without any means of communication.
She said the last time she saw her son was briefly in Trinidad when he stopped his car to greet her before going to a waterfall with friends.
“He called me Sunday night. He said, ‘Mom, I’m going back to Antigua. I said, ‘Well, son,” she said, describing how her son had been working on what she believed was a vegetable farm, only learning during the investigation that it was a legal marijuana operation.
Vasquez reported that when she contacted his employer, identified only as “Solomon” on April 21, “he was very casual” and told her “not to worry about Tommy” because he had just gone out with friends and would be back in a few days.
“Every time I try to call back Solomon, he’s not answering his phone,” she said, adding that when he eventually did call her back, “he wasn’t too giving on information” and claimed that he wasn’t on the farm the day Thomas disappeared.
Former foreign and Caricom affairs minister Dr. Amery Browne, in a statement posted on social media, said, “Relations with our Caricom neighbors must be managed with wisdom and diplomacy at all times…
“It sometimes looks easy, but it seldom is, and there are potential implications for trade and regional solidarity that should never be taken for granted. I wish the best possible outcome in this case.”
and then 