A simmering diplomatic dispute between Trinidad and Tobago and its fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states erupted into open confrontation Friday, as Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar doubled down on her demand that bloc Secretary-General Carla Barnett leave office when her five-year term expires this August.
The rift at the heart of the conflict traces back to late 2025, when the United States deployed an unusually large military contingent near Venezuela’s borders in preparation for operations targeting then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The move split the 15-nation regional trade bloc, with most CARICOM leaders rejecting the U.S. military deployment and reaffirming their longstanding commitment to keeping the Caribbean a formal “zone of peace.”
Persad-Bissessar, who won Trinidad and Tobago’s general election one year ago, has broken sharply with that regional consensus. She has publicly dismissed the zone of peace framework as “zone of peace fakery,” and openly thrown her administration’s support behind both U.S. military strikes in the South Caribbean and the Trump administration’s broad crackdown on transnational drug trafficking and organized crime.
In a statement late last year, as the U.S. finalized its operational plans against Maduro, Persad-Bissessar argued that CARICOM had incorrectly taken sides with what she called “the Maduro narco-government” under the false pretense of the zone of peace agreement. Her comments came as multiple regional governments raised formal complaints over the civilian harm and alleged illegality of deadly U.S. boat strikes carried out as part of the anti-drug campaign.
The prime minister’s months-long campaign to oust Barnett has grown increasingly intense, ultimately forcing CARICOM leaders to hold an emergency summit Friday to discuss the secretary-general’s planned reappointment. As leverage to push her agenda, Persad-Bissessar has repeatedly reminded fellow leaders that Trinidad and Tobago contributes roughly 22% of CARICOM’s total annual operating budget, equal to approximately $20 million. She has made clear that her administration holds deep dissatisfaction with the bloc’s current policy direction, saying she cannot understand why the majority of regional states have aligned with Venezuela and Maduro rather than backing the U.S. position on counter-narcotics and regional security.