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  • Indian Creek’s Deputy Alcalde Points to Leadership Breakdown

    Indian Creek’s Deputy Alcalde Points to Leadership Breakdown

    Dated April 15, 2026, deep internal divisions within the leadership of Indian Creek Village have come to light, with top local officials pointing to a complete breakdown in collaborative governance as the root of community unrest.

    In an on-the-record interview, Deputy Alcalde Manuel Ack laid bare the power struggle that has paralyzed local decision-making and stoked social friction. Ack emphasized that he remains fully aligned with the village council, which has delivered tangible progress for residents in recent months—including upgrades to critical infrastructure such as drainage culverts, local streets, community burial grounds, school yards, and a public football field. These development projects, he noted, reflect the council’s commitment to improving quality of life across the village.

    But Ack argued that this forward momentum has been undermined by the First Alcalde, who has refused to coordinate with the elected council and his deputy since taking office. From the start of the current term, Ack said, the top local leader made clear he rejected the council’s development agenda and insisted on holding unilateral control over all village affairs.

    This refusal to compromise has created a crippling political stalemate that has split the community along factional lines, even as leaders and residents breathed a collective sigh of relief over the safe recovery of Marcus Canti, a local figure at the center of recent tensions. Ack warned that this temporary relief will not resolve underlying rifts. Without a shift toward open cooperation and a willingness to compromise from all sides, he cautioned, community tensions will only escalate in the coming weeks and months.

    The current unrest comes alongside an ongoing official investigation tied to a submitted audio recording that has become a key piece of evidence in the case. Former village councilor Santiago Pop is calling on law enforcement and regulatory authorities to conduct a full, transparent probe into the recording, including rigorous verification of its authenticity. Pop raised pointed questions about the credibility of the evidence, noting that while Canti has been found unharmed, the recording has already been used to level accusations against local leaders including himself. He argued that a full investigation is critical to clearing up ambiguities and ensuring justice for all parties involved.

    Meanwhile, Domingo Choc, chairman of the Indian Creek Village Council, has issued a public appeal for calm across the community. Choc stressed that as council chair, he has consistently discouraged any acts of violence or retaliation, and has urged all council members to pursue constructive, positive solutions to the current impasse. He flatly denied any involvement by himself or his family in any actions that would undermine community peace or damage the reputations of other residents. Choc reiterated that the council’s core priorities remain advancing inclusive development and restoring unity across Indian Creek, calling on all community factions to set aside their differences and work together toward shared goals.

    Local media outlet News Five has confirmed it will continue providing ongoing coverage of the investigation and evolving political situation in the village as new details emerge.

  • Leaked Documents Raise New Questions Over BEL Severance Payments

    Leaked Documents Raise New Questions Over BEL Severance Payments

    A brewing conflict over unpaid severance at Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) has escalated dramatically after leaked internal documents confirmed what frontline and former workers have alleged for decades: senior executives received generous exit payouts while rank-and-file staff were denied the benefits they were owed. The disclosure, shared with local outlet News Five, has reinvigorated protests from retired and ailing former employees, who have long accused the state-linked utility of institutional favoritism toward top management.

    The documents, which detail exit arrangements for three high-ranking BEL leaders who departed between 2007 and 2015, paint a clear picture of unequal treatment. In June 2011, Joseph Sukhnandan, then Vice President of Engineering and Energy Supply, walked away with a total severance package exceeding $156,000 Belize dollars upon his retirement. Felix Murrin, former Vice President of Customer Care and Operations, secured board approval for an exit deal in November 2007 that included payout for 209 unused vacation days and a 33,000 Canadian dollar gratuity. When Rolando Santos, Senior Manager for System Planning and Engineering, left the firm in September 2015, his package included full severance payouts aligned with the Belize Labour Act, in addition to supplementary benefits under the company’s pension plan.

    These documented payouts come as hundreds of lower-tier and retired former employees have staged public protests, demanding the severance they say BEL has refused to pay them for decades. Organizers with the Belize Energy Workers for Justice (BEWJ), the group that pushed for transparency around the payments, say the leak validates long-held suspicions that the company has applied its own employment rules unevenly.

    Dorla Staine, a BEWJ organizer, told News Five the unfair practice dates back more than a quarter century. When workers demanded their earned severance in 1999 ahead of a company restructuring, Staine said management rejected their request and instead imposed a new pension structure — while quietly approving large severance payouts for top executives behind closed doors. “We knew this was happening. It stank then, and it stinks now,” Staine said of the double standard. Fellow BEWJ organizer Shawn Nicholas added that workers have long suspected leadership prioritized their own benefits over the entitlements of rank-and-file staff, and the leaked documents confirm that bias.

    BEL has thus far declined to respond to repeated requests for comment on the leaked documents. In previous public statements, the company has maintained that its current severance and pension structures comply with a 2025 ruling from the Caribbean Court of Justice on similar employee severance claims against Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), arguing BEL’s pension framework meets all legal requirements. Legal opinions obtained by BEL from two prominent Belizean law firms, Barrow and Company and Balderamos and Arthurs, back that position.

    Barrow and Company’s legal analysis notes that a variation agreement signed between BEL and its union established that all severance would be processed through the company pension plan, though the firm advised BEL to clarify its contractual wording to eliminate ambiguity around employee entitlements. Balderamos and Arthurs agreed that BEL’s pension structure is legally distinct from BTL’s and satisfies the CCJ’s 2025 judgment, but also recommended that the company add clearer breakdowns of employer pension contributions, severance entitlements and any balance discrepancies in all future exit correspondence.

    Even with legal backing for BEL’s overall policy structure, the unexplained disparity between executive exit packages and denied worker claims has left unresolved questions that continue to fuel worker outrage. For protesting employees, many of whom are elderly or living with chronic illness and have walked picket lines under extreme heat to demand their owed pay, the leak only deepens the injustice of the company’s practices. As of April 15, 2026, BEL has yet to issue a public explanation for the unequal payouts, leaving the dispute at an impasse between workers and utility leadership.

  • Child Care and Protection Agency, police rescue mother, children at Puruni Landing

    Child Care and Protection Agency, police rescue mother, children at Puruni Landing

    On Wednesday, April 16, 2026, Guyana Police Force released new details of an intervention triggered by a viral social media post that has brought a 29-year-old woman and her four young children into the care of regional child welfare authorities.

    The operation unfolded after authorities received widespread public attention via social media content flagging the unaddressed situation of the woman and her children at Puruni Landing, located in Guyana’s Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). Acting on the public tip, joint teams composed of police officers and staff from the national Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) mobilized to locate the group, making first contact with the family at approximately 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, April 14.

    Following the initial contact, authorities escorted the entire family to Bartica Regional Hospital to complete mandatory medical screenings, a step mandated to confirm the children’s physical and overall well-being. In an official statement, police confirmed that on the morning of Wednesday, April 15, follow-up checks were conducted at the facility by attending physicians, with the results revealing that all four children are in good health with no reported injuries or acute medical concerns.

    As of the latest update, the mother and all four children remain at Bartica Regional Hospital under routine observation, as authorities arrange transportation to take them to Georgetown, the nation’s capital, for a more comprehensive assessment by CCPA specialists focused on long-term welfare planning. The coordinated response to the social media alert highlights the growing role of public digital outreach in prompting official action on child welfare cases across Guyana, with agencies moving quickly to prioritize the safety and health of the affected children.

  • Transport unions freeze rates for 20 days amid fuel price surge

    Transport unions freeze rates for 20 days amid fuel price surge

    Amid global market volatility triggered by the Iran conflict that has sent international fuel prices soaring, major heavy transportation unions in the Dominican Republic, headed by the national umbrella organization Fenatrado, have rolled out a temporary emergency measure designed to absorb sudden cost increases and block an immediate jump in public and commercial transportation tariffs.

    The centerpiece of this coordinated action is a 15 to 20-day rate truce, under which cargo handling and transportation prices at the country’s two most critical commercial ports — Santo Domingo and Haina — will be held steady at pre-hike levels. This intentional freeze is structured to cushion already strained consumers and the broader Dominican economy from additional inflationary pressure at a moment of widespread global economic uncertainty.

    Union leadership, including Fenatrado vice president Miguel Matos, clarified the details of the agreement: seven of the nation’s largest transportation associations have collectively committed to covering the gap between current elevated fuel costs and their existing rate structure during the truce window. The groups are using this period to wait out potential corrections in global energy markets or await targeted intervention from the Dominican government to address rising fuel prices. Beyond consumer protection, the initiative also aims to curb rampant market speculation that could turn temporary energy price shocks into sustained, broad-based price increases across all goods and services.

    Despite the proactive short-term step, union representatives have emphasized that this cost-absorption measure cannot be maintained indefinitely. If global fuel prices remain at their current elevated levels once the truce expires, the unions confirmed they will have no choice but to implement formal upward revisions to transportation tariffs. For the immediate future, however, the coordinated action delivers much-needed temporary relief to a domestic economy already grappling with growing inflationary pressures.

  • No Relief, No Choice: Bus Services May Halt on April 20th

    No Relief, No Choice: Bus Services May Halt on April 20th

    A looming crisis threatens public transportation across Belize, as the nation’s bus operators have issued an urgent warning that a complete nationwide suspension of services will begin on April 20 if the government fails to intervene immediately to address skyrocketing operational costs. The Belize Bus Association (BBA), which represents the majority of bus operators across the country, says the industry has been pushed to an irreversible breaking point by sustained increases in fuel prices that have drained already razor-thin profit margins.

    In late March, the BBA submitted a formal letter to the Minister of Belize’s Department of Transport outlining a series of targeted policy proposals designed to stabilize the industry and keep public transit running for ordinary commuters. The association’s requests were straightforward: temporary tax exemptions for fuel and bus replacement parts, direct targeted government subsidies to offset rising fuel costs, and permission to adjust passenger fares to reflect increased operating expenses. Each proposal was framed as a viable solution to prevent a total shutdown, but according to the BBA, the central government has responded that it cannot implement any of the requested measures at this time.

    The BBA explains that the current crisis has been years in the making. Bus operators have long operated on extremely narrow profit margins, absorbing incremental cost increases over time to keep fares affordable for working commuters. That breaking point has now been crossed, the association says, as recent global fuel price spikes have pushed operating costs to levels that are no longer financially sustainable. Without urgent policy changes or last-minute intervention from the government, the BBA confirms that all member operators will be forced to halt services starting Monday, April 20.

    The association is making a final plea for immediate emergency talks with the Minister of Transport, emphasizing that a full shutdown would have cascading negative impacts across the country. Millions of daily commuters who rely on public bus transit to get to work, school, and essential services would be stranded without alternative transportation options. Beyond commuter disruption, the shutdown would also threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of bus operators, drivers, maintenance workers, and other industry employees whose incomes depend on the continued operation of bus services.

    The BBA says it remains fully open to collaborative negotiations with the government to reach a last-minute resolution, but stresses that time is running out. Only swift, decisive action from national officials can prevent widespread disruption to Belize’s public transportation network that would touch communities in every corner of the country.

  • The UN releases $140 million in emergency aid to help more than 1 million people in Haiti

    The UN releases $140 million in emergency aid to help more than 1 million people in Haiti

    As Haiti’s catastrophic humanitarian collapse accelerates to unprecedented levels, the United Nations has approved the release of $140.5 million in urgent emergency funding to deliver life-saving support to more than 1 million vulnerable Haitians. The intervention comes as official data confirms that more than half of the Caribbean nation’s total population now requires critical assistance, with widespread gang violence, crippling food insecurity, and mass forced displacement pushing millions of families to the edge of survival.

    Nicole Boni Kouassi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, emphasized that the newly allocated funding will address the most immediate needs across the country, covering core services from food assistance and clean drinking water to emergency healthcare and temporary shelter. A key focus of the intervention will be targeted support for at-risk and marginalized groups: this includes protection services for women and children vulnerable to gender-based violence, medical and mental health care for survivors of sexual assault, nutritional treatment for acutely malnourished children, and tailored assistance for people living with disabilities. Funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will also keep educational programming running, allowing children to continue learning amid ongoing instability.

    Aid distribution will be prioritized for the hardest-hit regions, identified through a rigorous, data-driven needs assessment. To overcome access barriers that have blocked aid from reaching cut-off communities, a portion of the funding will be allocated to support the UN Humanitarian Air Service and critical logistical operations that allow frontline humanitarian workers to reach isolated populations.

    Current humanitarian data paints a devastating picture of Haiti’s crisis: an estimated 6.4 million Haitians—more than half the country’s total population—require life-saving humanitarian assistance, and nearly 6 million are facing acute food insecurity that puts them on the brink of famine. Escalating gang-related violence has forced nearly 1.5 million people to flee their homes, with half of those displacements recorded in just the last 18 months. This new funding injection not only delivers immediate relief to vulnerable communities but also bolsters the UN’s 2026 Haiti Humanitarian Response Plan, a coordinated initiative that requires a total of $880 million to address the full scale of the unfolding crisis.

    The $140.5 million package is made up of three complementary allocations, all managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): $121.5 million from the Haiti Humanitarian Fund, $10 million from CERF earmarked for chronically underfunded emergencies, and $9 million from CERF to sustain humanitarian air operations.

    The three funding streams are tightly aligned with broader ongoing humanitarian efforts and other donor initiatives across the country. The Haiti Humanitarian Fund allocation targets 26 hard-hit communes across six priority intervention sectors, while the CERF underfunded emergencies allocation supports specific gap areas including education, support for women and girls who have survived gender-based violence, and civil documentation services that enable Haitians to access basic government and aid services.

    All funding decisions were developed through a context-specific analysis that accounts for ongoing security risks, and aid programming is tailored at the individual commune level to ensure safe, accountable delivery. Enhanced safeguards are in place where security conditions are most volatile to uphold core humanitarian principles and maintain the longstanding commitment to do no harm to affected communities.

    On behalf of the entire humanitarian community operating in Haiti, Kouassi extended gratitude to all donors that have contributed to OCHA’s pooled funding mechanisms. Key 2026 supporters include the United States and Canada, which have backed both the Haiti Humanitarian Fund and CERF, alongside other leading CERF donors the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Denmark.

  • Immigration Officer Lawyers Up After Administrative Leave

    Immigration Officer Lawyers Up After Administrative Leave

    A simmering internal conflict within Belize’s Immigration Department is on track to become a high-stakes legal battle, after an immigration officer placed on administrative leave over alleged participation in a coordinated border sickout has retained legal counsel to challenge the government’s disciplinary process. Last week, a coordinated work stoppage dubbed a “sickout” at the country’s western border disrupted border operations, prompting government officials to launch disciplinary action against eight officers suspected of organizing the protest under the guise of simultaneous medical leave. All eight officers have been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into claims they intentionally sabotaged border operations to stage a protest. But for one of those officers, the government’s pre-emptive action has sparked a fierce legal pushback.

    Norman Rodriguez, the attorney representing immigration officer Anne Marie Smith, argues that his client is being unfairly targeted before any formal investigation has been completed. Rodriguez told reporters that Smith was already on approved, doctor-ordered medical leave from March 30 to April 1 for a longstanding chronic health condition, and submitted an official medical certificate to her port commander before her leave began. Smith returned to work as scheduled after her leave ended, only to be served with two formal disciplinary notices. The first, issued under Section 144 of the Republic Service Regulations, placed her on administrative leave over allegations of professional misconduct and breach of personal integrity. The second, dated April 7, formally notified her that she would face an official investigation into the same claims.

    The core of the government’s allegation against the eight officers rests on the timing of their leave: all eight submitted medical certificates for roughly the same window, and all returned to work around the same date, leading officials to conclude the overlapping leave was a coordinated attempt to disrupt western border operations. Rodriguez, however, says the government’s narrative falls apart under scrutiny, emphasizing that Smith’s leave was entirely legitimate and supported by verifiable medical documentation that confirms her illness was not fabricated as a cover for protest activity.

    “Before you level an accusation of sabotage against a public servant, you are obligated to conduct a full, fair investigation first, not impose punitive action before any facts have been verified,” Rodriguez said, noting that disciplinary action was initiated before the probe even began. While Smith and the other seven officers have been allowed to return to their posts during the ongoing investigation, their names remain tied to the sabotage allegations, damage that cannot be undone even if the investigation ultimately clears them, he added.

    When pressed on claims that Smith exploited her pre-existing health condition to participate in coordinated strike action alongside the seven other officers, Rodriguez dismissed the argument as flimsy and legally untenable. He confirmed that the Public Service Union has offered support to the officers, but said Smith is prepared to take her case to court to clear her name if the internal grievance process does not resolve the issue fairly. If the dispute proceeds to litigation, the government’s entire disciplinary process will face formal judicial review, and Smith will seek monetary damages for the reputational harm she has already suffered, Rodriguez explained.

    The outcome of this legal challenge carries broad implications for public servants across Belize, setting a potential precedent for how disciplinary actions against government employees are conducted, and what recourse workers have when they believe due process has been violated.

  • Pharmacists, Ministry of Health Agree on Prescription Rollout

    Pharmacists, Ministry of Health Agree on Prescription Rollout

    Starting in 2026, Belize will implement a long-planned update to the nation’s prescription drug regulations, developed through close collaboration between the Pharmacists Association of Belize and the country’s Ministry of Health. With public anxiety growing over potential access disruptions to essential medications, particularly for patients managing long-term chronic conditions, industry representatives have moved quickly to clarify that the reform is focused on patient safety, not limiting access to care.

    The two governing bodies have agreed to a 12-month phased rollout of the updated rules, a transition period designed to gradually shift Belize’s healthcare culture toward greater medical accountability and routine health monitoring. Speaking on behalf of the association, Public Relations Officer Beverly Coleman explained that while formal prescription requirements have existed in national law for decades, widespread non-compliance and a lack of routine patient follow-up care created the need for a gradual transition. Many patients in Belize have long become accustomed to refilling long-term medications without regular check-ins with physicians or routine lab work to monitor how medications are affecting their health, she noted.

    “Any substance we put into our bodies — from over-the-counter pain relievers like Tylenol to herbal supplements — carries potential impacts that need medical oversight,” Coleman explained during an interview following the announcement. During the 12-month transition, pharmacists will be permitted to dispense limited one-month supplies of medication to give patients time to schedule required check-ups and get formal prescriptions from their doctors. Coleman emphasized the transition is not an unregulated free-for-all, but a structured opportunity for all stakeholders — doctors, pharmacists and patients — to adjust to the new safety standards.

    As the rollout approaches, however, concerns have emerged about strain on Belize’s already stretched healthcare system. Officials project that a surge of patients will flood primary care clinics to obtain required new prescriptions, raising questions about how gaps in care can be addressed, particularly in rural and geographically isolated underserved regions of the country. Discussion has turned to whether expanding prescribing authority to pharmacists could help ease the added pressure on clinics.

    Currently, Belizean law strictly limits pharmacists’ scope of practice: pharmacists are only permitted to dispense medications written by licensed physicians, and are tasked with flagging potential issues such as dangerous drug interactions or incorrect dosages to prescribing clinicians. Coleman confirmed that expanding this scope to allow limited prescribing by pharmacists for simple or stable chronic conditions is a topic that will be negotiated with the Ministry of Health in the coming months, given Belize’s unique geographic context where many remote communities lack consistent access to physicians.

    “Medicine is a constantly evolving field, and pharmacists must stay updated on the latest research to properly educate and counsel our patients,” Coleman added. She noted that any change to professional scope will require careful legislative negotiation and alignment with public health needs, to ensure patient safety remains the core priority as the system adapts.

  • Attempted Murder Charge for Akeem Ferguson After Brutal Ladyville Attack

    Attempted Murder Charge for Akeem Ferguson After Brutal Ladyville Attack

    A brutal weekend violent attack in the Belizean community of Ladyville has left one man clinging to life in hospital and another behind bars facing charges of attempted murder. Thirty-year-old local resident Akeem Ferguson was arraigned before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court this week, after being taken into custody hours following the assault on 42-year-old Lionel Nigel Logan.

    According to official reports from Belizean law enforcement, the violent confrontation unfolded on the evening of Saturday 11 April 2026 on Henry Street in Ladyville, just blocks from the Perez Road intersection. Investigators confirmed that Logan was first stabbed in the lower back by his attacker before being shot at close range. Bystanders alerted emergency services immediately after the incident, and Logan was rushed by ambulance to the country’s main public healthcare facility, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), where he remains in critical condition as of the court hearing.

    Crucially, law enforcement officials confirmed that Logan was able to identify Ferguson as his attacker both at the scene of the incident and again in a formal recorded statement taken by investigators while he received emergency care. Acting on this identification, police launched an immediate manhunt, released a public wanted notice to the community, and successfully took Ferguson into custody on the same night the attack occurred. When questioned by detectives about the incident, Ferguson formally denied all allegations that he shot Logan, according to police records.

    Ferguson made his first court appearance on 15 April 2026, arriving at the courthouse under heavy police escort shortly after 9 a.m. local time. He appeared before the court without legal representation, and entered no formal plea during the brief arraignment hearing. The three charges brought against Ferguson include the most severe count of attempted murder, alongside additional charges related to the illegal possession of a firearm and grievous bodily harm. Citing the severity of the charges and the ongoing risk to public safety, Senior Magistrate rejected Ferguson’s application for pre-trial bail and ordered him remanded into custody at Belize Central Prison, where he will remain held until his next court hearing scheduled for 15 June 2026.

    Investigators from the Belize Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Branch are continuing to work through evidence to establish a clear motive for the attack, as they build their case ahead of trial. The investigation remains active, with authorities working to confirm what led to the violent confrontation as Logan continues to fight for his life in hospital care.

  • CARICOM’s controversy over S-G’s appointment now centres on invitation to “Heads”

    CARICOM’s controversy over S-G’s appointment now centres on invitation to “Heads”

    A weeks-long political controversy has fractured the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM), pitting regional power Trinidad and Tobago against the bloc’s leadership and Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett over her controversial second-term reappointment, with demands for transparency and a high-profile call for Barnett’s resignation escalating tensions. The dispute first ignited on March 26, 2026, when CARICOM Chairman and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew announced that a required majority of CARICOM Heads of Government had approved extending Barnett’s tenure starting in August 2026. But the conflict has since pivoted to a heated dispute over conflicting accounts of whether Barnett barred foreign ministers from attending the closed-door February 26, 2026 heads of government retreat where the reappointment was finalized.

    Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar added a new twist to the saga this Wednesday, calling out Chairman Drew’s official statement for deliberately omitting the allegation that Barnett blocked the Caribbean nation’s foreign minister from attending the retreat. Persad-Bissessar publicly shared a screenshot of a February 25, 2026 WhatsApp message from Barnett that read: “Chairman PM Drew has indicated that today will be a Heads only retreat. Notwithstanding any indication otherwise, he would like it to remain Heads only. He apologises for any inconvenience.” Barnett directed attending foreign ministers to remain for a separate Community Council meeting to advance preliminary work on agenda items that would later be sent to heads for final approval.

    In an April 9, 2026 letter to Chairman Drew, Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Sean Sobers, who led his country’s delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, wrote that he interpreted the message as an uninvitation to the heads-only retreat. Sobers added that Trinidad and Tobago’s CARICOM director contacted CARICOM Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller, who confirmed the authenticity of Barnett’s WhatsApp instruction. He also noted that Community Council Chairman Dr. Denzil, St. Kitts and Nevis’ foreign minister, had explicitly told the council the February 26 event was restricted to sitting heads of government.

    A senior anonymous CARICOM official pushed back on this account to Demerara Waves Online News, denying that Sobers was ever disinvited. The official clarified that when a head of government cannot attend a retreat, the serving foreign minister serves as head of delegation — not a head of government — and argued that a seasoned lawyer and foreign minister like Sobers should have understood the regional bloc’s standard diplomatic protocols. The official accused Sobers of intentionally misleading the public to fuel controversy.

    In an April 12, 2024 statement, Chairman Drew released evidence of a second unpublicized WhatsApp message sent by Barnett to him at 10:55 p.m. on February 25, hours after the first message. That message read: “Chairman. TT Foreign Minister Sobers called me to ask if he should come to retreat in the absence of his PM. I indicated that other Heads who have left may be represented by their FMs. He also indicated he gets seasick, so he’s not looking forward to the boat ride. So we may not have TT represented tomorrow.” The CARICOM source explained that both messages must be read together: the first restriction only applied to foreign ministers whose heads of government were already in attendance at the retreat.

    CARICOM’s official photo release from the retreat shows 10 heads of government from full independent CARICOM member states in attendance, alongside non-voting representatives from British dependent associate member territories. Full members Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Haiti, Montserrat, and Trinidad and Tobago were absent from the official gathering.

    Persad-Bissessar has demanded full documentary evidence from Chairman Drew to confirm the legitimacy of Barnett’s reappointment, including meeting agendas, full attendee lists, official minutes from the February 26 retreat, all performance appraisals for the incumbent secretary-general, all formal communications calling for secretary-general nominee submissions, proof that all member states and their authorized representatives received proper invitations, clarification of why the heads-only restriction was omitted from the March 2, 2026 summary of confirmed decisions, and official documentation proving the reappointment vote was properly circulated by the chairman or the CARICOM Secretariat.

    “Surely there must be timestamped minutes, performance appraisals etc. Even village councils and sports clubs document their meetings far less an organization over half a century old,” Persad-Bissessar said, adding that she has yet to receive any of the requested materials.

    Trinidad and Tobago has taken drastic action over the stalled transparency request: both Persad-Bissessar and Sobers have refused to participate in future CARICOM meetings until the documents are released, and the nation boycotted a recent virtual CARICOM summit last week. A senior CARICOM source has argued that the dispute should be resolved during an in-person summit, not via back-and-forth correspondence, a position Trinidad and Tobago has rejected.

    Drew has defended the reappointment process, noting that the decision was taken under the retreat’s “financing and governance of the community” agenda item, in full compliance with Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. He also said that prior to the public announcement, officials attempted to contact all absent heads to share the outcome, but multiple attempts to reach Persad-Bissessar via email and phone failed. Ultimately, Chairman Drew spoke directly to Sobers about the decision, though he has not shared details of that private discussion.

    Persad-Bissessar has lashed out at what she calls a culture of cronyism at the CARICOM Secretariat, accusing officials of hiring political allies, party affiliates, and family members of regional politicians to maintain an “old boys club order.” She vowed to continue public pressure for accountability until the full truth is revealed and institutional reforms are implemented. “Therefore this matter will continue to be ruthlessly and relentlessly publicly escalated and prosecuted until persons are held accountable for their odious actions and proper reforms are made to the organization to ensure fairness, accountability, effective management and non interference in the domestic politics of CARICOM members,” she said Wednesday.

    The growing rift has led to outside calls for Barnett to step down. Earlier this week, Antigua and Barbuda’s veteran ambassador to the United States and Organization of American States, Sir Ronald Sanders, publicly urged the secretary-general to resign on principle to avoid derailing Caribbean regional integration. Speaking to state-owned ABS Television, Sanders argued: “If I were the Secretary General of CARICOM and I’m being quite serious here and this had occurred I would have resigned and I would have resigned because I would have said I must not stand in the way of Caribbean integration and the movement forward. It is clear that one senior government and Prime Minister is not in favour of Barnett’s appointment and as a result she should consider stepping down. Why am I still there? Because it is clear that I will never enjoy her support and why therefore would I put myself in a situation in which I am now the cause of the rift. If I were Carla Barnett, I would resign now on principle because [Persad-Bissessar] will not attend the meeting if Carla Barnett is at that meeting, neither will her foreign minister.”