Dr. Barnett’s Support Grows Amidst Trinidadian Opposition

A political showdown is unfolding at the heart of the Caribbean Community, and it’s putting regional unity in the spotlight. A growing dispute over the reappointment of CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett has sparked open disagreement among regional leaders. At the center of the controversy is Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad‑Bissessar, who is now questioning both the process and Dr. Barnett’s leadership of the regional body. The fallout is exposing deep divisions within CARICOM’s top ranks. News Five’s Shane Williams has the story.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting

What should have been a routine reappointment has now spiraled into one of CARICOM’s most public disputes in recent years. Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has rejected Dr. Barnett’s second term, citing a lack of transparency and proper procedure. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, she said, “Until this matter is transparently resolved, the organization and its secretariat should absolutely expect no quarter from my government. This is not a simple run-of-the-mill administrative appointment; it’s an appointment with long-term ramifications for my citizens.”

 

Trinidad contributes over twenty percent of the overall budget for the secretariat’s operations. But beyond concerns over process, deeper tensions are emerging. High ranking regional diplomatic sources have told News Five the dispute may stem from a lingering grievance tied to the 2022 arrest of Trinidadian Brent Thomas. Persad-Bissessar has accused CARICOM Secretariat of failing to act in what she calls the “kidnapping” of a Trinidadian national, a claim Prime Minister Mia Mottley strongly rejects.

 

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister Barbados

“Was clear that the Trinidad and Tobago police, as has been the practice for decades in this region would have supplied an arrest warrant, which the Barbados police would’ve acted upon. We understood at the time, and we said, our Attorney General said at the time that the formal process of extradition which we do extra regionally with other countries has not and was not practiced in the region among ourselves by any country in the region. And therefore, to that extent, we acknowledge that we need to be able to change how we operate. That is why the CARICOM arrest warrant is being pursued. That is why legislation has to be passed in every CARICOM country to be able to facilitate that CARICOM arrest warrant but to describe it as kidnapping or to suggest that any member of cabinet or any member of the permanent secretary class or government of Barbados is involved in kidnapping is a scurrilous lie and defamatory in the extreme.” 

 

Behind the scenes at CARICOM, diplomats say this standoff has less to do with Dr. Carla Barnett’s performance and more to do with political maneuvering. Despite the noise, regional sources indicate that Barnett still enjoys majority support among CARICOM leaders. And today, that backing became public. Guyana’s President, Irfaan Ali, made it clear, he firmly supports Dr. Barnett’s reappointment, pushing back against the growing controversy and signaling where Guyana stands in this regional debate. “Let me be fully transparent on this matter, I was involved in the discussions, as all other Heads, on the reappointment of the Secretary General. We support the reappointment of the Secretary General, that’s the first thing, and I hope it brings clarity.”

 

President Ali’s endorsement follows a statement from the office of Prime Minister Gaston Brown from Antigua and Barbuda on Holy Thursday saying, “The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has very high confidence in her ability to carry out her duties and responsibilities as she has been doing effectively during her tenure thus far.”

 

Now, all eyes turn to an upcoming CARICOM Heads of Government summit, where this dispute is set to come to a head, and where regional unity could face a serious test. Shane Williams for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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