BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A public controversy over the reappointment of Dr. Carla Barnett to a second term as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has intensified in recent days, with Trinidad and Tobago voicing formal dissatisfaction over the outcome and calling into question the legitimacy of the process that led to the vote. Now, a leaked internal correspondence from CARICOM Chair Dr. Terrance Drew has pulled back the curtain on the timeline of deliberations, as regional leaders prepare for an emergency summit to resolve the growing rift.
Trinidad and Tobago officials have made their opposition to Barnett’s reappointment clear, anchoring their discontent in long-simmering unresolved grievances. The core complaint centers on the CARICOM Secretariat’s failure to respond to previous official communications regarding the 2010s arrest and deportation of a Trinidad and Tobago citizen by another member state, a matter Port-of-Spain says has been left unaddressed throughout Barnett’s first term.
In the leaked letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Drew, who also serves as Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, pushed back against claims of an irregular or opaque process, laying out a step-by-step timeline of how the reappointment vote moved forward. Drew confirmed that the item was added to the CARICOM Heads of Government conference agenda weeks in advance, with formal notifications sent to every member state’s leadership well before the gathering kicked off in late February.
According to the timeline outlined in the letter, the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister chose to depart St. Kitts and Nevis on the evening of February 25 – the first day of the scheduled conference – one full day before the leaders-only retreat where the Secretary-General vote was scheduled to take place on February 26. Drew emphasized that regional organizers made deliberate accommodations to ensure Trinidad and Tobago still had representation at the critical closed-door session. CARICOM Affairs Minister Sean Sobers was formally invited to step in and attend the retreat in the Prime Minister’s place, but the offer was ultimately rejected.
The letter details that Sobers declined the invitation citing a specific, personal objection to the standard transit arranged for retreat attendees: a water taxi, the primary mode of transportation between the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. The minister reportedly stated he declined to attend out of fear of experiencing seasickness during the crossing.
With no representative from Trinidad and Tobago present, the Heads of Government moved forward with deliberations, ultimately approving Barnett’s reappointment in a vote held in full compliance with Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas – the foundational regional agreement that formally lays out the rules and procedures for selecting and reappointing the CARICOM Secretary-General. Drew added in the correspondence that multiple attempts were made to reach the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister after the vote to share the outcome, but all outreach went unanswered.
Drew is not the only regional leader to defend the outcome of the process. Guyana’s President Dr. Irfan Ali has publicly backed the reappointment, confirming in his own remarks that all procedural requirements laid out in regional governing documents were followed correctly at every stage of the decision.
To address the ongoing standoff, CARICOM has called a special emergency Heads of Government meeting scheduled for the afternoon of April 10, when the controversial reappointment will be revisited for full discussion. Regional observers and leadership hold out hope that the face-to-face talks will produce a mutually acceptable resolution to the concerns raised by Trinidad and Tobago, mending the divide before it creates deeper friction within the 15-nation bloc.