In a time of rising global tensions, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has once again shown principled leadership by asserting its commitment to keeping the Caribbean Sea a zone of peace.
The recent United States naval presence in the Southern Caribbean, purportedly aimed at Latin American drug cartels, has caused grave concern among Caribbean leaders, prompting a call for clarity and consultation.
Barbados and other CARICOM member states are right to be cautious. The deployment of American warships off the coast of Venezuela, under the guise of anti-narcotics operations, risks escalating a volatile situation in the region and undermining the consensus that military intervention should never “define the Caribbean’s future.”
As Barbados’ Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds explained this week, CARICOM foreign ministers have written to United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting dialogue and consultation before any military operations take place in our regional waters.
The letter, drafted by Dr Denzil Douglas, a former five-time Prime Minister of St Kitts and current Chair of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Relations, reflects a shared desire to avoid misunderstandings and maintain regional stability.
The ministers’ position seeks to balance support for international cooperation on challenges like drug trafficking and gun smuggling, with an insistence on respecting sovereignty and maintaining trust.
Indeed, as Symmonds noted, Caribbean nations have been grappling with the problem of illegal firearms and drugs, and they welcome efforts to curb these threats. However, that cannot come at the cost of regional consultation or allowing foreign powers to unilaterally introduce force.
The main issue here is not whether the US should combat transnational crime, if that is truly the aim of the military action. Some have rightly asserted that this military action is actually a pretext by the Americans to remove the leader of the oil Venezuela and install one that is favourable to the US.
The strike on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela, killing all the occupants, was taken without warning to regional partners. This perfectly illustrates the very concern that CARICOM foreign ministers are trying to address.
Such unilateral action by the US could trigger broader instability, particularly given the United States’ fractured relationship with the Venezuelan government.
US officials claim the operation targets drug cartels rather than nations, but the large naval presence is causing regional concern. History has taught us that even well-intentioned operations can spiral out of control when dialogue is sidelined.
Minister Symmonds was right to underscore that the Caribbean Sea has long been viewed as a zone of peace. This principle, enshrined in United Nations resolutions and affirmed by regional institutions like CELAC, calls for the peaceful resolution of conflicts. It is a cornerstone of Caribbean foreign policy.
CARICOM must, therefore, remain unified. The apparent split by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who publicly welcomed the Americans’ presence and dismissed concerns as relevant only to criminals, risks undermining the strength of the region’s collective voice.
While all member states have the sovereign right to express national policy, Caribbean unity is essential.
Symmonds rightly pointed out that the US has made no request to access Trinidadian territory or conduct military action there.
What CARICOM is seeking is consultation, not confrontation. If the United States wants to be a trusted partner in the region, it must engage respectfully with our Caribbean leaders. That would mean providing timely notice of military operations, clarifying the scope and targets of such missions, and avoiding provocative deployments that could be misinterpreted as pretexts for regime change.
In this moment, CARICOM has taken a responsible, proactive approach.
As Minister Symmonds outlined to this publication: “We have met at the level of the Heads of Government with the chief justices of the region because it is necessary for the courts to understand and for the Heads to understand what is going through the minds of the judiciary and vice versa.”
The Caribbean has fought too hard to build peaceful, independent societies to now be drawn into external conflicts or treated as a staging ground for militarised policy.
The United States and other powers must respect the region’s commitment to peace and its sovereign right to be consulted on matters affecting its security and stability, and avoid turning Caribbean waters into a battlefield.
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