{"id":351337,"date":"2025-10-30T10:57:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=351337"},"modified":"2025-10-30T12:11:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:11:29","slug":"trinidad-and-tobago-to-realign-foreign-policy-amid-caricom-rift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/homepage-carousel\/trinidad-and-tobago-to-realign-foreign-policy-amid-caricom-rift\/","title":{"rendered":"Trinidad and Tobago to realign foreign policy amid CARICOM rift"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_340952\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-340952\" style=\"width: 556px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-340952\" src=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/UNC-Leader-Kamla-Persad-Bissessar-speaking-to-reporters-after-winning-the-Siparia-seat-in-the-general-election-on-Monday-CMC-Photo-e1745980339588.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"556\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/UNC-Leader-Kamla-Persad-Bissessar-speaking-to-reporters-after-winning-the-Siparia-seat-in-the-general-election-on-Monday-CMC-Photo-e1745980339588.jpg 556w, https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/UNC-Leader-Kamla-Persad-Bissessar-speaking-to-reporters-after-winning-the-Siparia-seat-in-the-general-election-on-Monday-CMC-Photo-e1745980339588-300x165.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 556px) 100vw, 556px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-340952\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kamla Persad Bissessar. Photo: CMC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced a major shift in Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s foreign policy, citing a breakdown in trust with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The announcement, reported across several national newspapers including the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Daily Express, and Newsday, follows mounting tensions over regional security, divergent positions on Venezuela, and U.S. military activity in the Southern Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Persad-Bissessar stated, \u201cThese changes are necessary for improving our economic and physical security,\u201d adding that CARICOM is no longer viewed as a \u201creliable partner.\u201d She stressed that while withdrawal from CARICOM is not being considered, her administration will seek new international alliances focused on trade, investment, and security.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister\u2019s remarks came after Trinidad and Tobago reserved its position on an October 18 Caricom communiqu\u00e9 reaffirming the Caribbean as a \u201cZone of Peace\u201d\u2014a stance that set it apart from other member states. According to the Daily Express, Persad-Bissessar defended her position, arguing that Trinidad and Tobago faces unique threats from drug trafficking, gang violence, and gunrunning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrinidad and Tobago is definitely not a zone of peace,\u201d she said, noting that other island nations do not experience the same level of violent crime.<\/p>\n<p>Persad-Bissessar\u2019s support for the United States\u2019 deployment of military assets\u2014including warships, fighter jets, bombers, and the USS Gerald Ford\u2014has further strained regional relations. As reported by Newsday, a U.S. warship docked in Port of Spain on October 26 for joint military exercises with Trinidad and Tobago forces. The Prime Minister has backed the U.S. initiative as a necessary measure against narco-terrorism and human trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>The Venezuelan government, which has denounced the U.S. military presence as a push for regime change, responded by suspending all energy agreements with Trinidad and Tobago. On October 28, Venezuela\u2019s parliament moved to declare Persad-Bissessar \u201cpersona non grata\u201d, a move she dismissed as inconsequential. She also stated that Trinidad and Tobago does not depend on Venezuelan gas, citing alternative projects in both energy and non-energy sectors.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister\u2019s criticism of CARICOM stems in part from what she described as the bloc\u2019s decision to \u201cchoose Venezuela over Trinidad.\u201d This sentiment was echoed in her interview on the Crime Watch programme, where she lamented the lack of regional support for Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s endorsement of U.S. naval assets.<\/p>\n<p>CARICOM itself remains divided over Venezuela. In August, several member states, including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, participated in an ALBA-TCP summit expressing strong support for Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, who they said was facing persecution from the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the diplomatic rift, Persad-Bissessar reiterated her commitment to humanitarian efforts within the region. All three newspapers noted her expression of solidarity with Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island on October 28. \u201cOur prayers are with the people of Jamaica at this time,\u201d she said, confirming that Trinidad and Tobago was coordinating relief supplies.<\/p>\n<p>Trinidad and Tobago remains a founding member of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), with regional trade dominated by exports of petroleum products, petrochemicals, iron and steel, and food and beverages. However, the Prime Minister\u2019s remarks signal a potential shift in the country\u2019s long-standing regional engagement, as it seeks new global partnerships amid evolving geopolitical challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced a major shift in Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s foreign policy, citing a breakdown in trust with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The announcement, reported across several national newspapers including the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Daily Express,&#8230;","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":340952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[235,76,9,12,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-351337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage-carousel","category-international-relations","category-news","category-politics","category-regional"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trinidad and Tobago to realign foreign policy amid CARICOM rift - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/homepage-carousel\/trinidad-and-tobago-to-realign-foreign-policy-amid-caricom-rift\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trinidad and Tobago to realign foreign policy amid CARICOM rift - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced a major shift in Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s foreign policy, citing a breakdown in trust with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 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