World News
CARICOM fractures under regional political strain
“CARICOM is not a reliable partner at this time.”
Since the establishment of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) in 1973, the organization has been recognized as a symbol of regional solidarity and territorial integration. According to its official website, CARICOM is described as the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world. It is a grouping of 20 countries: fifteen member states and seven associate members.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been openly critical of CARICOM. Her support for the U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardline position toward the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has placed her at odds with other CARICOM leaders who do not share her views.
On Sunday, December 21st, 2025, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar issued a media statement outlining her position on CARICOM, titled “Our National Interest First: We Must All Live the Consequences of Our Actions.” In the statement, she wrote, “Trinidad and Tobago’s government does not bind itself to the political ideologies or foreign, economic, and security policies of other CARICOM member governments. Members are free to make decisions in the best interests of their citizens.”
She went on to outline what she described as CARICOM’s systemic failures, stating, “CARICOM is not a reliable partner at this time. The fact is that beneath the thin mask of unity, there are many widening fissures that, if left unaddressed, will lead to its implosion.”
The Prime Minister attributed these fissures to what she described as poor management, weak accountability, internal divisions, destabilizing policies, private conflicts among regional leaders and political parties, and what she termed inappropriate interference in the domestic affairs of member states.
She further argued that “CARICOM cannot continue to operate in a dysfunctional and self-destructive manner. It is a grave disservice to the people of the Caribbean. The region must confront the rot within the organization with transparency and honesty. Hiding behind diplomatic platitudes, superficial sophistication, and false narratives is self-defeating.”
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar also criticized CARICOM’s engagement with the Venezuelan government, stating, “Any organization that chooses to disparage our greatest ally, the United States, while lending support to the Maduro narco-government, headed by a dictator who has imprisoned and killed thousands of civilians and opposition members, and who has threatened two CARICOM states, has clearly lost its way.”
She concluded by reaffirming her position on national sovereignty, “Our citizens can rest assured that I will always make decisions that put Trinidad and Tobago first. CARICOM will not determine our future. Only the citizens of our country will choose our path.”
Former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley responded forcefully to Persad-Bissessar’s remarks. He stated, “For the Prime Minister and her hapless government to reduce us to a vassal state, taking secret instructions from another country and issuing dire warnings that we must ‘behave ourselves’ lest we offend the United States and lose access to U.S. visas, is to tear up our constitution and declare that the very idea of our existence as a nation is not worthy of defense or vision.”
Dr. Rowley further warned of the implications of withdrawing from regional decision-making, arguing that such actions positioned Trinidad and Tobago as dangerously aligned against its own regional interests. He characterized this stance as historically ignorant and dismissive of mutual respect among Caribbean nations.
In response to Dr. Rowley, Minister Barry Padarath issued a statement on December 21st, 2025, as reported by LiveZone. He said, “The Government stands firmly with the Honourable Prime Minister. Trinidad and Tobago finally has a leader who is confronting the national security challenges we uniquely face. Diplomacy is not about sitting on a fence and hoping for the best; it requires bold leadership, courageous decisions, and strategic alliances.”
Padarath criticized Dr. Rowley’s tenure, asserting that CARICOM had been used to advance personal political interests rather than address pressing regional threats, including gun trafficking, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
On December 26th, 2025, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda responded to Persad-Bissessar’s claims by disputing the assertion that CARICOM is not a reliable partner. He noted that Trinidad and Tobago is the single largest beneficiary of regional trade, reportedly receiving approximately $1.1 billion in economic benefits from CARICOM markets.