11 ex regional heads of state condemn Trinidad over US military alignment
Led by Barbados’ Freundel J. Stuart, the statement warned that the US military build-up in Caribbean waters could drag the region into “conflicts not of our making,” shattering decades of regional neutrality and trust.
Guyana's former President Donald R. Ramotar (2011-2015) also signed the condemnation.
The former leaders say the militarisation of Caribbean seas is reckless and unprecedented, a threat to peace, tourism, and the region’s fragile independence. With the USS Gerald R. Ford already patrolling South American waters, analysts warn the Caribbean is now teetering on the edge of confrontation.
'A Zone of Peace on Land, Sea & Airspace'
Their statement, endorsed by Trinidad and Tobago’s immediate past prime minister Dr Keith C. Rowley, reaffirms principles that once guided regional diplomacy. Rowley described his support as a necessary reaffirmation of regional values.
In a joint declaration titled Our Caribbean Space: A Zone of Peace on Land, Sea and Airspace Where the Rule of Law Prevails, the leaders expressed “apprehension on the increased military security build-up and the presence of nuclear vessels and aircraft within the Caribbean archipelago.”
They urged all parties to “pull back from military build-up to avoid any diminution of peace, stability and development within our regional space that has the potential to pull the region into conflicts which are not of our making.”
The declaration was signed by former prime ministers P. J. Patterson and O. Bruce Golding of Jamaica, Kenny D. Anthony of Saint Lucia, Donald R. Ramotar of Guyana, Tillman J. Thomas of Grenada, Edison C. James of Dominica, Winston Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda, and Belizeans Said W. Musa and Dean O. Barrow, alongside Stuart of Barbados.
Dangerous dereliction of duty
Rowley, who led Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2025, also formally signed the document on his 76th birthday. He said: “It is with a deep sense of loss and sadness that I reflect on the leadership provided by Trinidad and Tobago at an earlier time. It is a dangerous dereliction of duty under any circumstances to embrace the discarded colonial mantra that might is right and that the rule of law, local or international, is an inconvenience and a humbug.”
The declaration comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, including renewed concerns over the Guyana–Venezuela border dispute and reports of increased foreign naval activity in the Caribbean Sea.
Political analyst Peter Wickham says Kamla’s alignment with Donald J. Trump’s military agenda has left Trinidad “isolated and illogical,” while Professor Don Marshall describes the move as “a collapse of sovereignty."
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12 Responses to “11 ex regional heads of state condemn Trinidad over US military alignment”
These poor countries would be in even more desolation and starvation if it weren’t for the cultivation of marijuana, poppy, and cocaine producing plants. Yes the Cartels have been killing people indiscriminately and warring causing innocent people to die in the crossfire. And that needs to stop. But have you seen the destitution of places like Columbia and Venezuela where there is no middle class? No real economy? USA and UK and Europe should assist these countries by developing real economies outside of drugs.
Trump needs to look inward at the source of his problems and it isn’t 3rd world Latin American countries being labeled as criminals!