Caricom Split as T&T Backs U.S. Military Presence in Region

Divisions are emerging within Caricom over the United States’ growing military footprint in the Caribbean.

At an emergency meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago stood as the only Caricom nation to support Washington’s presence, while others aligned with efforts to condemn it.

CELAC members had proposed a communique warning that the deployment of U.S. warships, submarines, and troops threatened regional peace and stability. Several Caricom governments, along with members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), backed the move, describing the buildup as “a new demonstration of imperial force.”

But Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers said Port of Spain could not support such a statement. “There’s no evidence to suggest that the U.S.’ intervention against transnational crime will destabilise regional security,” he said, noting that T&T is disproportionately affected by crime compared to its Caricom neighbours.

Sobers stressed that the position was rooted in sovereignty and national security, adding that Caricom traditionally respects the individual stances of its members. “Any right-thinking person would want to welcome that level of intervention,” he said, describing U.S. assistance as the first significant “physical intervention” in T&T’s fight against transnational crime.

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines have all come together to oppose the deployment of US warships, submarines, and troops in the Caribbean, labeling it as a “new demonstration of imperial force.”

Outside Caricom, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica also shared T&T’s position. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, used a visit to Ecuador to underscore Washington’s focus on drug trafficking and organised crime in the region.

Caricom has yet to issue a joint position on the issue, leaving the split over U.S. involvement unresolved.