Senior Political Reporter
Concerns, queries and calls for more information.
These were among reactions from present and past politicians following Prime Minister Kamla Persad- Bissessar’s decision to sign T&T to the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition.
Persad-Bissessar signed an agreement for T&T’s participation in the US-led ACCC military alliance at the Shield of the Americas Summit held by US President Donald Trump on Saturday.
Other ACCC signatories were invited foreign leaders Javier Milei (Argentina), Rodrigo Paz Pereira (Bolivia), José Antonio Kast (President-elect Chile,) Rodrigo Chaves Robles (Costa Rica), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), Mohamed Irfaan Ali (Guyana), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Santiago Peña (Paraguay) and Nasry Asfura (Honduras).
Persad-Bissessar received the pen used to sign the agreement by Trump.
Contacted on the agreement yesterday, People’s National Movement Senator Dr Amery Browne said, “We always value our security partnerships and overall diplomatic relations with the US and others. We also value our national sovereignty.”
He added, “No issue should be taken with lawful actions that bring drug cartels to justice. The challenge is to avoid using the facade of an alleged war on drugs to achieve other objectives, and to avoid any pattern of focusing on extrajudicial killings of the alleged small runners whilst largely ignoring other higher levels of ‘cartel networks’ in both the supply and the demand countries.”
He added, “It’s up to Government to convince citizens this new coalition will produce results at a different level to the military actions of the past 10 months, much heralded and loudly supported by the Prime Minister, but which in 2026 landed T&T right back into a skyrocketing murder rate and another SoE.”
Accusing the Prime Minister of avoiding media conference participation, he said, “It’s hoped that soon after her return, she finally convenes one to provide insights into her trip’s value and details of the new arrangements entered into on T&T’s behalf ... former PM Keith Rowley routinely held media conferences on return from missions.”
He said Persad-Bissessar who has responsibility for regional security in Caricom’s quasi-Cabinet is also obliged to report to Caricom on developments.
Bharath: Will alliance deal with T&T crime reality?
Former United National Congress (UNC) Minister Vasant Bharath said it remained unclear how this coalition would address the realities of T&T’s crime.
“Before embracing grand hemispheric coalitions, Government should first answer how exactly does this alliance make T&T safer?” he said.
“Until clear, participation in the US coalition risks looking less like strategic leadership and more like geopolitical theatre. Our security crisis isn’t driven by large transnational cartels operating openly within T&T. It’s rooted in domestic gang violence, illegal firearms trafficking, and deeply entrenched socio-economic problems.
“Let’s hope the symbolic pen (PM was given) hasn’t signed us up for a production where we haven’t read the fine print. Joining a militarised anti-cartel framework risks applying the wrong diagnosis to T&T’s national security challenge.”
He added, “More troubling is the geopolitical context. The coalition reflects Washington’s effort to reassert hemispheric security leadership. For large Latin American states battling powerful cartels, participation may offer operational advantages. For a small Caribbean state like ours, benefits are far less obvious. The danger is, T&T becomes symbolically enlisted in a US-led security architecture that advances broader American strategic objectives while offering limited practical benefit to T&T’s domestic security needs.”
He said such major security partnerships should be discussed transparently and debated in Parliament. However, he said there’s been no public explanation of what commitments T&T has actually made under the Shield framework.
Further, Bharath said that by aligning more closely with this US-driven initiative, T&T’s PM continues driving a wedge between Caribbean nations, weakening the principle that “Caribbean security should primarily be shaped by Caribbean institutions.”
Tewarie: High-risk for T&T
Another former UNC minister, Bhoe Tewarie, said, “Straddling Shield of the Americas and Caricom is going to be fraught with tensions. The prime agendas are different from the Zone of Peace, to military solutions - guns, drugs crime and international terrorism.
“The sovereignty equation is being rewritten as we speak and we’re headed for a period in which non-alignment isn’t a serious proposition anymore. We’re in high-risk territory now. Courage is an asset but longer-term consequences are hardly predictable.”
Tewarie added, “I’m sure the Prime Minister is making the best choices for T&T at this time, knowing she can never be in charge of matters outside of her control. She can only do what’s under her control.
“I expect there will be war games involving the US and T&T military soon so T&T can reap other benefits. The carrot-and-stick quid pro quo is the Trumpian approach in this era and T&T has things to gain - and things to lose.”
COP leader welcomes cooperation
Congress of the People leader Prakash Ramadhar - whose party is among Government’s Coalition of Interests, endorsed the move.
“The Government has taken a very bold effort but in this time, we cannot continue dealing with crime with old rules - there’s a whole new game ahead of us. Criminals are very different to those of the past, therefore a deeper look is needed on dealing with those issues.
“I’d be extremely grateful coming out of the Shield summit if there’s concerted efforts by all involved - law enforcement and countries - to handle gun importation, exports, and the money that flows through our system.”
Ramadhar also supported international co-operation.
“In the 1990s, the US Drug Enforcement Agency had a very powerful T&T presence and brought down many drug traffickers; Dole Chadee’s just one. I’d like to see revitalisation of that on the ground ... we need to investigate murders for hire and extortion. Many fear going to court as they feel they can be killed ... therefore the situation requires a great force with the co-operation of those who may not be influenced locally by corruption.”
