TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | PM Persad-Bissessar's Support for US Naval Force Sparks Regional Divide

Prime Minister's backing of American warships in Caribbean waters isolates Trinidad from CARICOM partners amid questions over intelligence and evidence

MONTEGO BAY,  Jamaica August 24, 2025 - Eight American warships bristling with guided missiles and carrying 4,500 Marines are cutting through Caribbean waters in what the Trump administration frames as routine anti-drug operations. 

But there's nothing routine about the regional response—or the glaring isolation of Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as the sole Caribbean leader offering full-throated support for what represents one of the largest US military deployments in regional waters in recent memory.

While her CARICOM counterparts invoke the Caribbean's sacred principle as a "zone of peace," Persad-Bissessar has doubled down with language that could have been lifted from a Pentagon briefing room. 

"The US Government's deployment of American Military assets into the Caribbean region to destroy the terrorist drug cartels has the full support of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago," she declared Saturday, using terminology—"terrorist drug cartels"—that echoes Washington's most aggressive framing.

The Regional Rebellion

The Prime Minister's stance has left her standing virtually alone in a region that has historically prized consensus on matters of sovereignty and security. Ten ALBA-TCP member nations, including Caribbean states Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, issued a blistering joint condemnation warning that the deployment "represents a threat to the peace and stability of the region and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law."

Even former Trinidad Prime Minister Stuart Young—from Persad-Bissessar's own political landscape—drew a sharp line: "CARICOM and our region is a recognised zone of peace and it is critical that this be maintained." The message was clear: this is not what Caribbean diplomacy looks like.

The Evidence Problem

What makes Persad-Bissessar's position particularly striking is her unwavering support for a military operation built on what appears to be remarkably thin evidence. Washington has branded Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as "one of the world's largest drug traffickers," doubling the bounty on his head to $50 million and designating his government as a "narco-terror cartel."

Yet the supporting evidence remains conspicuously absent. Venezuelan officials have dismissed the allegations as fabrications, but more damaging is the skepticism from regional leaders with no love for Maduro. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum—hardly a Venezuelan ally—has stated flatly that there is no evidence supporting Trump's claims linking Maduro to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel.

Even Colombia's Gustavo Petro, who shares no fondness for his Venezuelan counterpart, issued a scathing rebuke: "The gringos are mad if they think invading Venezuela will solve their problem. They are dragging Venezuela into a Syria-like situation."

The Intelligence Question

This raises an uncomfortable question: What does Persad-Bissessar know that her regional counterparts don't? The Prime Minister's statement suggests access to intelligence that justifies such an extraordinary departure from Caribbean consensus. 

"Most Caribbean countries, and in particular TT, have been dealing with out-of-control crime for the last 20 years," she argued, claiming that cartels have embedded themselves in "the high echelons of Caribbean societies."

If such intelligence exists, why hasn't it been shared with CARICOM partners facing identical security challenges? Trinidad holds the national security portfolio in CARICOM's quasi-cabinet, making the unilateral nature of her support even more jarring.

Breaking Protocol

Persad-Bissessar's explicit statement that "The Trinidad and Tobago government has not engaged and has no intention of engaging CARICOM on this matter" represents a stunning break from regional diplomatic protocol. For a region that has spent decades building consensus on matters of sovereignty and security, this represents more than a policy disagreement—it's a fundamental challenge to how Caribbean states navigate great power politics.

The Sovereignty Trap

The most troubling aspect of Persad-Bissessar's position may be her casual dismissal of sovereignty concerns. "The US military is operating legally in international waters within the region and has not breached any nation's sovereignty," she argued. 

But this legalistic parsing misses the broader point raised by her regional counterparts: the deployment's intimidation effect and its potential to drag the Caribbean into conflicts beyond their making.

Her promise to "unflinchingly provide access" to Trinidadian territory if the US requests support for defending Guyana against Venezuela reveals the logical endpoint of her position. Trinidad, a nation of 1.4 million, is essentially offering to serve as a forward operating base for American military action in South America.

The Cartel Claims

Perhaps most damaging to regional unity is Persad-Bissessar's adoption of language that portrays Caribbean governance itself as compromised. 

Her claim that cartels exhibit "significant influence in political, legislative, media, banking, security, and economic decisions, often rendering governments toothless" raises an obvious question: If this is true across the region, why is Trinidad the only government supporting American military intervention?

The irony cuts deeper when considering CARICOM's long-frustrated efforts to address the actual source of much Caribbean violence. 

For years, the regional bloc has made high-level representations to successive US administrations seeking help to stem the flow of American weapons fueling the Caribbean's murder epidemic—pleas that have fallen on deaf ears in Washington. 

CARICOM states have even joined Mexico in a landmark court case against US gun manufacturers, arguing that lax American gun laws have turned their nations into killing fields.

The same United States that has ignored Caribbean entreaties about weapons trafficking originating on American soil now deploys 4,500 Marines to combat alleged drug trafficking—a deployment that conveniently projects American power while doing nothing to address the northward flow of drugs through established trafficking corridors.

This disconnect exposes the selective nature of American "security assistance." When Caribbean leaders seek help addressing American-made problems destroying their societies, Washington offers bureaucratic silence. 

When American geopolitical interests align with military intervention, suddenly the Caribbean's security concerns become a Pentagon priority.

The implication—that other Caribbean leaders opposing the deployment are somehow influenced by or complicit with criminal networks—represents a breathtaking departure from diplomatic norms, particularly when those same leaders have spent years begging Washington for help with the American weapons flooding their streets.

The Dangerous Precedent

What Persad-Bissessar has effectively done is establish that Caribbean states can unilaterally invite great power military intervention in regional disputes, regardless of broader CARICOM consensus. 

This precedent could prove catastrophic for a region whose small states have historically survived by presenting a united front to external powers.

The timing is particularly fraught, coming as the region grapples with the Rowley detention controversy and questions about the weaponization of international law enforcement mechanisms. The convergence suggests a troubling pattern where political transitions in the Caribbean are increasingly marked by the abandonment of regional solidarity in favor of external backing.

The Unanswered Questions

As American warships patrol Caribbean waters with Trinidad's blessing, fundamental questions remain unanswered. What intelligence convinced Persad-Bissessar to break ranks so dramatically? Why hasn't this intelligence been shared with regional partners facing identical security challenges? And what happens to Caribbean unity when individual states begin shopping for great power protection?

The Prime Minister's defiant stance may reflect genuine security concerns or calculated political positioning. What's certain is that her isolation from regional consensus represents a watershed moment for Caribbean diplomacy—one that could reshape how the region navigates an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape.

The warships will eventually leave Caribbean waters. The precedent Persad-Bissessar has set will endure far longer.

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