PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Former foreign affairs minister, Dr. Amery Browne, Monday accused the Trinidad and Tobago government of “deliberately” misconstruing “basic CARICOM principles and concepts” amid regional media reports that Port of Spain’s nomination for a position on the United Nations Security Council for the period 2027-28 could be in jeopardy.
Former foreign affairs minister, Dr. Amery Browne (File Photo)The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) Monday quoted well-placed sources as saying that the decision by the Kamla Persad Bissessar administration to support the United States in its military buildup in parts of the Caribbean, could lead to a re-think by regional countries to support the UN Security Council nomination for Trinidad and Tobago that had been secured under the Keith Rowley administration.
Browne, who served as foreign minister in that administration told CMC that Prime Minister Persad Bissessar “continues to misunderstand” the CARICOM concept “such as the zone of peace.
“The current government of Trinidad and Tobago has now completely isolated itself from CARICOM and is clearly serving another agenda,” Browne said, adding that ‘every right thinking citizen must be deeply concerned by recent developments”.
On Sunday, Trinidad and Tobago reiterated its position why it is standing apart from its Caribbean Community (CARICOM) neighbors saying that the United Sates military operations are “aimed at combatting narco and human trafficking and other forms of transnational crime (and) are ultimately aimed at allowing the region to be a true “Zone of Peace” where all citizens can in reality, live and work in a safe environment”.
The statement by Port of Spain came less than 24 hours after the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that regional leaders had met last week to discuss several issues on the regional agenda, including the security build-up in parts of the Caribbean and its potential impact on member states.
It said that the position at that meeting was not endorsed by the government of the twin-island republic.
The meeting follows a series of deadly strikes by the Donald Trump administration targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels off the Venezuelan coast, the latest of which reportedly claimed the lives of two Trinidad and Tobago nationals.
“Save in respect of Trinidad and Tobago who reserved its position, Heads agreed on the following: They reaffirmed the principle of maintaining the Caribbean Region as a Zone of Peace and the importance of dialogue and engagement towards the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflict.
“CARICOM remains willing to assist towards that objective,” the CARICOM statement read.
Trinidad and Tobago holds responsibility for security in the quasi CARICOM cabinet and according to the sources, Port of Spain’s position calls into question the endorsement secured by Trinidad and Tobago under the last administration to serve on the United Nations Security Council for the period 2027-28.
Further, the sources said that Trinidad and Tobago may have also rendered itself ineligible to represent CARICOM given Prime Minister Persad Bissessar’s view that the US military should kill all traffickers “violently”.
Browne told CMC that he is perturbed by the current government’s “irresponsible rhetoric and its disdain for lawful process for maritime law and international law” and that “this narrative, this naive parroting of talking points … were clearly not scripted in our region.
“No other country in CARICOM is conducting itself in this manner and when you look at the founding fathers of CARICOM – Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana -it is only Trinidad and Tobago that is isolating itself in this way”.
Browne told CMC that Prime Minister Persad Bissessar “has completely abdicated her responsibilities her responsibilities within the CARICOM quasi cabinet and her government is doing harm to our relations in CARICOM and our relations with other countries in the region”.
The Caribbean is also worried that her views are also causing friction among the wider Group of Latin American and Caribbean countries (GRULAC), as well as affect the ongoing collaboration pursued under the three non-permanent African countries and CARICOM, known as the A+3 block of countries.
The sources told CMC that in the past there has been an excellent working relationship with the grouping under St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana, the latest two CARICOM countries that have selected to the UN Security Council in recent years.
Last week, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Dominica, Jose Durabio Moros Savelli, urged Caribbean countries to unite in opposing the military buildup saying that it is important for preserving peace in the Caribbean.
“We should fully preserve the peace in the region…it is not just about Venezuela if the United States start a war in the Caribbean it will be bad for all of us, our economy, our people,” Savelli said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has also criticized the deployment of United States naval forces to the Caribbean, calling them a source of strain that could undermine peace in the region.
“The presence of the armed forces of the largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension,” Lula had said.
Colombia, one of the United States oldest and strongest allies in the region, has also come out against the military buildup saying it is destabilizing for all Latin America.
Colombia’ has rejected outright President Donald Trump’s claims that the naval ships, a submarine, and a squadron of F-35 fighter jets were there to tackle the drug trade.
The sources said that as a result of such opposition, that the matter of Trinidad and Tobago’s selection to the UN Security Council is such that regional leaders should be asked to state their views given that they had in their statement reaffirmed their commitment to tackling narcotrafficking and the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons, which continue to pose major threats to regional stability.
Browne said that it appears that the Trinidad and Tobago government is supportive of a “regime change agenda under the guise of fighting a cartel boss,” and that Trinidad and Tobago “now finds itself at variance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of non-interference in the affairs of another sovereign state.
‘Sadly the respected and foreign policy of Trinidad and Tobago has been destroyed by this government taking us from a non-aligned status to what the region now regards as a satellite state that has farmed out its foreign policy and completely abandoned its principles,” Browne told CMC.
In its statement on Sunday, Port of Spain said that the Trinidad and Tobago government “’ reiterates its commitment to the people of the Caribbean for the creation of a safer, stronger and more prosperous region”.
