Kamla: T&T committed to Caricom despite controversy

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has firmly declared that T&T will not leave Caricom, even as she intensifies her public campaign accusing the regional body of running a 'corrupt backroom operation' over the reappointment of Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett and demanding sweeping institutional reform.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has drawn a clear line in the sand: T&T is staying in Caricom — but the bloc must change.

In a pointed Facebook statement, Persad-Bissessar reaffirmed that T&T 'helped build this organisation and will be a part of fixing it to benefit all the people of Caricom,' even as she sharpened her attacks on the regional body's handling of Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett's reappointment.

Central to the dispute is a WhatsApp message sent at 8:55 am on February 26, 2026 — the morning of the Caricom heads retreat in St. Kitts and Nevis — to all foreign ministers on the COFCOR group chat. Persad-Bissessar published a screenshot of the message, purportedly from Barnett, informing ministers that Chairman Dr. Terrance Drew had restricted the retreat to heads of government only. Foreign Minister Sean Sobers, already on the ground, read the message at 8:56 am. T&T's Caricom Director subsequently confirmed its contents with Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller.

Persad-Bissessar says not one Caricom foreign minister or secretariat official has publicly acknowledged the message — silence she calls 'deliberate and disgraceful.' She further alleged that Drew's April 11 statement dismissing T&T's concerns was drafted by Barnett herself.

With T&T contributing roughly 22% of Caricom's annual budget — approximately US$20 million — Persad-Bissessar argues the country has both the standing and the obligation to demand full accountability and institutional reform.

• Persad-Bissessar confirmed T&T will not leave Caricom, pledging to reform it from within • The dispute centres on the reappointment of Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, which T&T says was flawed and non-transparent • A WhatsApp message sent at 8:55 am on February 26, 2026 to the COFCOR group is the central piece of evidence cited by T&T • Foreign Minister Sean Sobers read the message at 8:56 am; its contents were confirmed by T&T's Caricom Director with Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller • Caricom Chairman Dr. Terrance Drew issued a statement on April 11 dismissing T&T's concerns • Persad-Bissessar alleges the Drew statement was drafted by Barnett herself • No Caricom foreign minister or secretariat official has publicly acknowledged the WhatsApp message • T&T contributes approximately 22% of Caricom's annual budget, roughly US$20 million

The stakes extend far beyond a WhatsApp dispute. Trinidad and Tobago's UN Security Council bid — endorsed by Caricom during Keith Rowley's tenure and facing a June 2026 election — is now directly in the crosshairs. 

Former St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has openly questioned whether T&T can credibly represent regional interests at the UN while aligning so closely with Washington on Venezuela and the 'zone of peace.'

The Jamaica Gleaner has warned that withdrawing Caricom's endorsement could cause 'irreparable damage to the community, potentially even triggering its collapse.' With T&T bankrolling roughly 22% of Caricom's annual budget — around US$20 million — any escalation toward withdrawal would leave the 52-year-old bloc facing a financial and existential crisis it is poorly equipped to absorb.

Predictions: • If Caricom's endorsement of T&T for the Security Council seat is formally challenged, expect T&T to escalate its public campaign and potentially withhold budget contributions. • Barnett's departure in August 2026 may temporarily defuse tensions, but structural reform demands from Port of Spain will persist regardless. • The June 2026 UN Security Council election will serve as a de facto referendum on whether Caricom solidarity can survive the current rift.

Social Conversation: negative

Social media posts highlight escalating tensions between Trinidad & Tobago and Caricom, focusing on PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar's criticism and perceived egotistical approach.

criticism of Caricomcall for transparencypolitical tensions

Voices on X

"Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has intensified her criticism of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), accusing the regional body of concealing what she described as a corrupt backroom operation that undermines the organisation and harms Caribbean citizens.

For more: https://"

@CNC3TV · Trinidad and Tobago · 15h ago · 13 engagements · View on X

"Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has intensified her criticism of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), accusing the regional body of concealing what she described as a corrupt backroom operation that undermines the organisation and harms Caribbean citizens.

For more: https://"

@GuardianTT · Trinidad & Tobago · 15h ago · 3 engagements · View on X

"#TRINIDAD: Political analyst Derek Ramsamooj says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar must abandon what he described as her “Trump-like” and egotistical approach to CARICOM and accept that Trinidad and Tobago is no longer the regional superpower it once was. https://t.co/E4cmYy"

@caribbeannewsuk · United Kingdom · 1d ago · 2 engagements · View on X

"In this episode of Morning Edition, Political Analyst, Dr. George C Brathwaite breaks down the current regional landscape with tensions rising between Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar and CARICOM. https://t.co/OynnuqJPIO"

@tv6tnt · Trinidad & Tobago · 1d ago · 1 engagements · View on X

Based on 13 posts from X · Apr 16, 2026

T&T Has a Point — But a Credibility Problem: Persad-Bissessar is not wrong that Caricom has a transparency deficit. When every foreign minister on a WhatsApp group stays silent about a message that is allegedly still sitting there undeleted, that silence is its own kind of answer. A body that preaches good governance cannot practise the opacity it condemns. But T&T's moral authority is undermined by its own contradictions. Port of Spain has enthusiastically backed Washington's Venezuela policy and boat interception operations while most of the Caribbean recoiled. That is T&T's sovereign right — but solidarity is not a tap you turn on only when you need a UN Security Council vote in June.

Caricom Cannot Afford to Blink: The Jamaica Gleaner has warned that withdrawing Caricom's endorsement of T&T's Security Council bid could cause 'irreparable damage to the community, potentially even triggering its collapse.' With T&T bankrolling roughly 22% of the bloc's annual budget — around US$20 million — any escalation toward withdrawal would leave the 52-year-old organisation facing a financial and existential crisis it is poorly equipped to absorb. Former St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has asked the right question: can T&T credibly represent a region whose consensus it has publicly rejected? Port of Spain needs an answer before June — not another Facebook post.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar has put her finger on something real. Caricom — the Caribbean Community binding fifteen member states in trade, diplomacy and shared identity — has a transparency problem. When the bloc's foreign ministers allowed a controversial message to sit undeleted on their shared WhatsApp group and said nothing, that silence spoke volumes. A body that preaches good governance cannot practise the opacity it condemns.

But Trinidad cannot make that argument while ignoring its own contradictions.

T&T contributes roughly 22% of Caricom's annual budget — approximately US$20 million a year — and has long used that position to project regional influence - even while Persad-Bissessar famously noted some years ago that Trinidad was not an ATM for poorer Caribbean countries.

More recently, much of the Caribbean has recoiled from Washington's pressure on Venezuela and controversial boat interception policies, Trinidad has aligned itself enthusiastically with the United States on both. That is T&T's sovereign right. But it comes at a cost.

That cost arrives in June 2026, when Trinidad needs those same neighbours to support its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council. You cannot openly reject the region's consensus, then expect the region to champion you on the world stage.

Trinidad does have legitimate grievances. When Venezuela made threatening moves against T&T and Guyana earlier this year, the Caricom response was muted at best. Solidarity, it seems, cuts both ways.

But as former St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has asked — can Trinidad credibly represent a region whose consensus it has rejected? Port of Spain needs an answer before June. Not a Facebook post. An answer.

That question now carries a darker edge. There is a growing belief that T&T may withdraw from Caricom entirely — echoing the moment Jamaica left the West Indies Federation in 1962. When Jamaica voted to leave, Trinidad's Eric Williams produced his famous arithmetic: "One from ten leaves nought." It was T&T's own justification for following Jamaica out the door, and the Federation collapsed.

The arithmetic is different now. What would one from 15 leave in 2026?

That question deserves more than a shrug. Many Jamaicans will claim, loudly, that they would not lose sleep over Caricom's demise. But the calculation looks very different from a smaller island — one whose negotiating power, disaster relief access and diplomatic voice depend entirely on being part of something larger than itself. For those nations, Caricom is not a bureaucratic inconvenience. It is a lifeline.

The region has survived worse. But it has rarely needed clearer heads more than it does right now.