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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has brushed aside suggestions that Trinidad and Tobago’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) could lose regional backing, saying she is unfazed by any potential fallout from her government’s support of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean.
“I simply do not care if anyone withdraws their support. That is their choice,” Persad-Bissessar told the Trinidad Guardian on Monday in response to a Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) report suggesting that Port of Spain’s alignment with Washington could jeopardize its 2027–2028 Security Council nomination.
CMC quoted regional sources as saying that several CARICOM leaders were unhappy with Trinidad and Tobago’s position, which diverged from the bloc’s reaffirmation of the Caribbean as a “Zone of Peace.”
“You should ask CARICOM leaders about this. Quite frankly, my only care and concern is for the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” Persad-Bissessar told reporters. “I have made it explicitly clear that Trinidad and Tobago will always come first under my leadership. No other country besides the U.S. is willing to assist us to aggressively fight the drug and arms traffickers. I am not going to toe CARICOM’s line while our country is going to hell with drugs, out-of-control violent crime and murders for the last 20 years. Added to that, we have tens of thousands of illegal Venezuelan immigrants here who are putting a strain on our services.”
Her comments come amid regional unease over U.S. military activities in the Caribbean, which Washington says are aimed at combating narco- and human trafficking. The CARICOM Secretariat confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago was the lone member state to withhold endorsement of a collective statement last weekend reaffirming the region’s commitment to peace and diplomacy.
Sources said that Port of Spain’s break from regional consensus has raised questions about its suitability to represent CARICOM on the Security Council — a nomination originally secured under a previous administration. They also warned that Persad-Bissessar’s remarks endorsing U.S. operations “to kill traffickers violently” could strain Trinidad and Tobago’s relations within CARICOM, the wider Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), and the A+3 coalition of African and Caribbean countries that coordinate on UN matters.
Venezuelan Ambassador to Dominica Jose Durabio Moros Savelli has urged Caribbean nations to oppose the U.S. military buildup, warning it could spark regional instability. “If the United States start a war in the Caribbean, it will be bad for all of us — our economy, our people,” he said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombia’s government have also publicly criticized the U.S. deployment of naval forces, calling it a “source of tension” that undermines regional peace.
Despite the criticism, Port of Spain on Sunday reaffirmed its support for U.S. operations, emphasizing that they target criminal networks, not law-abiding citizens. “The government of Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its commitment to the people of the Caribbean for the creation of a safer, stronger, and more prosperous region,” its statement said.
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