Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) yesterday was notable for its directness and her willingness to break with diplomatic platitudes. She rejected the longstanding description of the Caribbean as a “Zone of Peace,” instead presenting the region as a frontline in an increasingly violent war without borders — a war fought not with armies, but with drugs, firearms and human beings.
She gave stark statistics on the devastating impact of transnational criminal networks on fragile societies and endorsed US President Donald Trump’s warnings about the corrosive effects of narco-trafficking, organised crime and unregulated migration. Illegal migration, she cautioned, undermines checks and balances, strains public services and can deepen crime and cultural antagonism.
While many regional leaders have been wary of an expanded US security footprint, Persad-Bissessar expressed gratitude for the “very effective” role of the US military in the southern Caribbean in disrupting cartel activity. She went further, endorsing the US–Panama proposal for a multinational “gang suppression” force in Haiti and signalling T&T’s willingness to contribute resources and capabilities to the effort.
For a small country that prizes its sovereignty, this alignment with Washington is significant. It reflects a calculation that confronting transnational crime requires not only stronger institutions but also international intelligence sharing, interdiction and, at times, forceful action.
This stance also carries implications for regional unity. Caricom has traditionally sought consensus on security and foreign policy, balancing close ties with Washington against sensitivities about militarisation. Persad-Bissessar’s strong public endorsement of US actions could widen the gap between member states that favour tougher, US-backed interventions and those more sceptical of external involvement. It may force Caricom to confront hard questions about how far it is prepared to go, collectively, in combating transnational crime — and whether the region can afford to speak with multiple voices on such a critical issue. At the same time, T&T’s willingness to “share the burden” in Haiti could also encourage more practical cooperation, signalling that small states need not be passive victims but active partners.
Yet, the address was not one-dimensional. On climate change, the Prime Minister challenged what she described as coercive policies imposed by industrialised countries, calling instead for a “pragmatic” balance between environmental protection and development needs. She reaffirmed T&T’s record of constructive multilateralism — from championing the International Criminal Court to advancing women’s rights — and its bid for a Security Council seat in 2027–2028.
Taken together, the address outlined a foreign policy that is assertive, pragmatic and rooted in national self-interest: cooperation with the United States on security where it benefits the region, and insistence on sovereignty and fairness where it does not. Whether this balance can hold — and whether the promised “international security alliance” can dent cartel operations — will depend on sustained commitment from all parties.
For Caricom, Persad-Bissessar’s posture at the UN is both a challenge and an opportunity. It challenges the bloc to clarify its collective security stance at a time when external actors are playing a larger role, and it opens an opportunity for member states to move beyond statements toward concrete joint action on transnational crime.
If handled well, her call to action could galvanise a more unified, better-resourced regional response. If ignored, it risks deepening divisions and leaving the Caribbean even more vulnerable to the forces she so starkly described.
