BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told regional leaders Tuesday, “who vex loss”, as she reiterated her full support for the United States military presence in the Caribbean to address, according to Washington, the illegal drug trade.

Addressing the ceremonial opening of the 50th ordinary meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Persad-Bissessar also criticised the political situation in Cuba and
took yet another jab at the regional integration movement for its adherence to the Caribbean being declared a zone of peace.

She said the decision by Washington to send its military into the region to help stem the flow of illegal drugs to the North American country had paid dividends for Trinidad and Tobago, as she linked the high murder toll in the twin island republic to the narcotics trade.

“So again, I repeat…who vex loss. But we gained. We gained from the …military help, and I will welcome them again. So we changed the policy, and we were able to bring those murders down by 42 per cent, as I say, that’s 257 less people who would have been dead had we not taken that course of action,” she told the ceremony.

Insisting that her administration is supportive of the 15-member Caricom grouping, Persad-Bissessar sought to recall instances that questioned the sincerity of the grouping.

“We respect the sovereign right of Caricom members, with respect to your choice for national security, for your nation, and respect to your choice for foreign policy…and we expect no less from others.”

She said Trinidad and Tobago “took very careful note” of what happened in Caricom in 2025 when her government chose not to lend support to the Nicholas Maduro regime in Venezuela, and despite repeated threats against two fellow Caricom members from Venezuela, most of the regional countries stood against the two.

She said that she had “openly” indicated that in the ongoing border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, she had indicated that “if they touch Guyana, Trinidad Tobago will be there with you and stand with you”.

She said Trinidad Tobago was threatened, “and we are still threatened by Venezuela,” adding “So how can it be when that regime was threatening violence to two Caricom member states, there was no voice from the Caricom.

“We were talking about a zone of peace. And in my respectful view, my country is not a zone of peace, and I’ll tell you why, because of the unreliability of the Caricom in the above situation,” she continued. “We cannot bind ourselves to the same political ideologies, the same foreign issues and the same security policies.”

She welcomed the position outlined by Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the ceremony when he spoke of Caricom being a grouping of independent countries pursuing what’s best for their respective countries, even while being in the regional grouping.

“.. I have to also face the reality of what is happening in my own country, in Trinidad and Tobago, and so I welcome the words of Prime Minister Holness when he spoke of the balanced way that he looked at Caricom. We all have different pathways to walk, but our destination, our goal, our aim, is the same. It’s for a better quality of life for the people in our country and for the whole of the region,” she said.

“So, Trinidad and Tobago today, we reaffirm our commitment to remain a vested partner in the work of Caricom, but I also like to take an opportunity for a short time to speak openly and constructively for the benefit of all the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” she added.