Caption: Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles
Summary
- Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles condemned Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s Caricom conference speech as “revolting and bizarre.”
- Persad-Bissessar told regional leaders T&T would remain in Caricom but would not bind itself to the bloc’s political ideologies, foreign policy positions, or security frameworks.
- Beckles rejected the Prime Minister’s claim that the former PNM administration helped facilitate a 2022 kidnapping in Barbados, calling it “a dangerous fabrication.”
- She also challenged Persad-Bissessar’s assertions on crime reduction and raised concerns about comments relating to Cuba, migration, and the Caricom Secretariat.
- Acting PM Jearlean John and Foreign Affairs Minister Sean Sobers publicly backed the Prime Minister, calling the address clear and necessary.
By Prior Beharry
OPPOSITION Leader Pennelope Beckles has condemned Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s address at the Caricom Heads of Government Conference, describing it as “revolting and bizarre.”
Persad-Bissessar, speaking at Tuesday’s opening ceremony, delivered a sharp critique of regional leadership and signalled a shift in Trinidad and Tobago’s posture within the regional bloc. While stating that Trinidad and Tobago remained “vested” in Caricom, she said the country would no longer bind itself to the region’s political ideologies, foreign policy positions, or security frameworks, and would instead craft its own foreign and security policies to defend its sovereignty.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, Beckles said the public deserved leadership grounded in “dignity, responsibility, and respect” for regional partners, adding that the Prime Minister’s contribution reflected none of those qualities.
She described the speech as “inflammatory, reckless, and wholly unbecoming” of the office, and claimed it was “the worst speech ever delivered by a Head of Government at a Caricom meeting” in the organisation’s history.
Beckles also rejected allegations raised by Persad-Bissessar that the former PNM administration assisted in the kidnapping of a Trinidad and Tobago citizen in Barbados in October 2022. Beckles called the claim “a dangerous fabrication,” arguing that it maligned former officials in both countries and undermined confidence in state institutions.
She also criticised what she described as an attack on and ridicule of the Caricom Secretariat, and accused the Prime Minister of using the issue of Venezuelan migration to justify opposition to the free movement of Caricom nationals. Regional integration, she argued, required collaboration rather than rhetoric that inflamed domestic anxieties.
On crime, Beckles questioned Persad-Bissessar’s claim that she “changed policy” and reduced murders by 42%, asking whether the State of Emergency was being presented as the policy itself. She said an SOE was an extraordinary, temporary constitutional measure and not a sustainable crime strategy, adding that long-term gains required comprehensive reforms.
Beckles further raised concern over remarks she interpreted as an attack on Cuba’s sovereignty, saying Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign policy tradition was based on non-interference and respect for international law.
She also pointed to economic benefits of regional cooperation, saying that in 2024 Trinidad and Tobago generated about US$1.1 billion in trade within the Caricom market and an estimated US$142 million in customs revenue under the Common External Tariff regime.
Government officials, however, moved quickly to defend the Prime Minister.
Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John, in a Facebook post, said she supported and endorsed the positions articulated in Persad-Bissessar’s address, congratulating the Prime Minister on what she described as a “ground-breaking speech.” John said the address was clear and forthright, and did not shy away from difficult observations about the functioning of regional mechanisms.
The Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs also signalled support in a news release, describing the Prime Minister’s contribution as reflecting “clarity, leadership, and firm commitment” at a critical moment for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.
Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers said the ministry was “fully aligned” with the Prime Minister’s position and remained committed to advancing foreign policy rooted in transparency, cooperation and national and regional prosperity.
