GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) 鈥� Trinidad鈥檚 ongoing row with its over U.S. policy toward international drug trafficking and Venezuela boiled over into a full-scale verbal war Friday, with the prime minister demanding the exit of CARICOM鈥檚 secretary-general after her term ends in August.
Regional tensions among members of CARICOM, a 15-member regional trade bloc, spiked late last year when governments denounced and the build-up of an intended to capture then-President Nicol谩s Maduro.
Regional neighbors previously called for the Caribbean to remain a 鈥渮one of peace,鈥� but Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister dismissed the label as 鈥渮one of peace fakery,鈥� throwing her support behind U.S. military strikes and the Trump administration’s broader campaign against international drug trafficking and organized crime.
She has now turned her focus to CARICOM’s general operations, demanding that Secretary-General Carla Barnett step down once her five-year term concludes in late August.
Since , the prime minister has used her platform to push for Barnett鈥檚 removal, reminding leaders that Trinidad pays around 22% of CARICOM’s annual budget, around $20 million.
Persad-Bissessar has repeatedly expressed her administration鈥檚 deep dissatisfaction with the bloc鈥檚 current operations, saying she remains puzzled why the region aligned with Venezuela and Maduro rather than supporting the U.S. position.
鈥淐aricom has chosen to support the Maduro narco-government through the fake zone of peace narrative,鈥� she said in a statement in late 2025 as the U.S. was preparing for action against Maduro and as governments complained about the alleged illegality of the deadly boat strikes.
Her relentless monthslong campaign against the bloc and its chief executive had forced Friday’s emergency meeting to discuss Barnett鈥檚 reappointment.
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