Browne: Kamla undermined Caricom solidarity

Dr Amery Browne -

SENATOR Dr Amery Browne accused Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of undermining Caricom's solidarity and its chances of showing a united front on the current impasse in which US warships are approaching the coast of Venezuela ostensibly to fight narco-trafficking cartels operating in the Southern Caribbean.

The US has put a US$50 million bounty on the head of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro who it accuses of being in league with the Tren de Aragua gang and of heading the Cartel de los Soles trafficking network.

Browne first chided the government for seemingly having expressed three bizarrely different positions on the issue in its members' recent utterances. He said Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers had appeared neutral, after which Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressed full support for the US, followed by TT ambassador to Caricom Ralph Maraj allegedly supporting regime change in Caracas.

"In reality what these three public officers of TT have been doing is making a mockery of generations of hard work that has gone into crafting and building a credible and respectable foreign policy for this, our beloved nation."

He then chided as "unfortunate" Persad-Bissessar's recent statement that she would not consult Caricom on the US-Venezuela impasse.

"She then boldly, recklessly and completely out of place said each member state can speak for themselves on this issue. In other words, every country for themselves.

"Who is she to make such a declaration? Especially when we in this country have worked so hard to uplift and build the profile of the very same Caricom."

He accused the PM of not taking her responsibility seriously.

"We as an opposition have to condemn in the clearest possible terms those words and the disregard that the PM of this nation is showing to the Caribbean Community."

Saying her statement was sinister, he said even as she was releasing it, efforts had been under way to mobilise Caricom to examine these very issues toward building a consensus.

"What she has done there over 24 hours ago is to fire a shot across the bow of Caricom solidarity and literally sabotage our region's ability to form a consensus and craft a united position on this very significant matter."

He said foreign ministers of Caricom states were about to meet in an emergency session over Persad-Bissessar's remarks, which he termed "reprehensible."

He alleged the PM has sold TT down the river by saying her government has adopted US government policy as its own.

Browne wondered where the PM's remarks now left TT's chances of candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN security council.

He accused the government of having gone "completely silent" on prominent issues such as Gaza and the imposition of trade tariffs.

Browne accused the PM of "megaphone diplomacy" in her remarks over Guyana, rather than convening Caricom to develop a joint position.

In her latest statement, Persad-Bissessar had promised to allow US forces access TT in the event Venezuela attacked Guyana.