标签： Trinidad and Tobago

In a significant address blending legal insight with moral guidance, High Court Justice Frank Seepersad has called for measured assessment of recent geopolitical developments in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Speaking to media representatives after delivering his Christmas sermon at Marabella Presbyterian Church on December 21, Justice Seepersad emphasized that state sovereignty entails both the authority and responsibility to act in citizens’ best interests, even when requiring difficult decisions and strategic alliances.

The jurist articulated that national sovereignty empowers nations to legislate and govern for their people’s welfare, yet this mandate frequently involves balancing domestic priorities with regional stability requirements, economic partnerships, and occasionally military or strategic cooperation to sustain growth and viable international trade.

Addressing specific concerns about recent military actions, Justice Seepersad referenced approximately 28 US missile strikes since September 2 that resulted in over 100 fatalities in Caribbean and Pacific waters. While American authorities maintain these targeted vessels were transporting narcotics, no concrete evidence has been publicly presented to substantiate these claims. The judge noted that much commentary surrounding the legality of these actions remains speculative, emphasizing that natural justice principles require comprehensive evidence assessment before reaching conclusions.

Seepersad highlighted pressing regional challenges including what he described as the largest hemispheric migration from Venezuela within the past decade and statements threatening Guyana’s territorial integrity. He characterized these developments as indicators of deeper systemic problems requiring policy reassessment and governance realignment rather than dismissal.

The judge simultaneously delivered a powerful message of communal responsibility during his Christmas sermon, themed ‘Christmas: A Call to Christ and Community.’ He framed Christ’s humility, sacrificial love, and service model as a blueprint for both personal conduct and public life, urging citizens to transcend individualism and actively rebuild communities grounded in spiritual principles.

Drawing from his judicial experience, Seepersad identified widespread familial dysfunction, domestic violence, workplace conflicts, and social erosion caused by envy, greed, and unresolved grudges. He connected these patterns to societal departure from Christ-like behavior and diminishing moral foundations.

Regarding national development, the justice cautioned against excessive polarization and the tendency to blame political leaders exclusively. He emphasized every citizen’s role in building a productive state, calling for enhanced accountability particularly within public service sectors. While acknowledging recent salary improvements for workers, he advocated for viewing employment as more than financial compensation, stressing the need for renewed work ethic, integrity, and productivity.

Justice Seepersad concluded by encouraging citizens to become ‘ambassadors of reconciliation’ by forgiving past wrongs, dismantling stereotypes, and collectively working toward peace and prosperity, carrying Christmas’s transformative message beyond the season into daily life.

A scathing editorial letter has exposed a deepening political crisis in Trinidad and Tobago, accusing Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s administration of compromising national sovereignty and facilitating US military operations against Venezuela. The critique characterizes the government’s recent denials regarding involvement in Venezuelan oil tanker blockades as “facetious and duplicitous” amid compelling evidence of collaboration.

According to the analysis, the Persad-Bissessar government has systematically supported US military escalation since September through multiple consequential actions. These include granting US military forces access to Trinidadian airspace and territory for logistical operations, effectively breaking with decades of non-aligned foreign policy tradition. The government has additionally permitted the establishment of US radar systems in Tobago capable of tracking and targeting missiles, transforming the nation from neutral observer to active participant in regional conflict.

The most severe allegations involve complicity in approximately 100 extrajudicial killings resulting from US attacks on vessels in Caribbean and Pacific waters. International condemnation of these actions potentially exposes Trinidad and Tobago officials to prosecution before the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.

Despite prime ministerial assertions of pursuing “TT-first” policies, evidence suggests both domestic and foreign policy are being dictated by US interests. This sovereignty surrender has potentially made the nation a legitimate military target in the US-Venezuela conflict while compromising citizen safety and economic stability. The editorial concludes with an urgent call for public opposition to these developments and demands restoration of Trinidad and Tobago’s independent status and the Caribbean’s peace zone designation.

In a bold geopolitical maneuver, Guyana President Dr. Irfaan Ali has garnered significant praise for his resolute pursuit of a cooperative agreement with the United States. This strategic partnership emerges against a backdrop of prolonged territorial tensions with Venezuela, which have intensified following renewed claims over the oil-rich Essequibo region.

The historical context traces back to the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award, which definitively recognized Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo. Despite this settled matter, Venezuela has recently revitalized its expansionist ambitions, creating regional instability. The letter writer emphatically supports President Ali’s diplomatic approach, characterizing Venezuela as the Caribbean’s primary aggressor that has systematically engaged in moral brutality against Guyana while allegedly serving as a major conduit for narcotics and arms trafficking throughout the region.

A particularly strategic proposition suggests incorporating a US military installation within the disputed territory as a permanent deterrent against Venezuelan aggression. Such presence would establish a definitive frontera—both physical and symbolic—protecting Guyana’s sovereignty while ensuring regional stability. This perspective gains credibility following Trinidad and Tobago’s recent acceptance of US radar infrastructure at Tobago airport, which has already demonstrated operational success through a landmark $171 million drug interdiction in the Caroni Swamp.

The emerging US-Caribbean security architecture represents a pragmatic realignment against Venezuelan expansionism, with the author concluding that American partnership offers superior regional security outcomes compared to enduring Venezuelan threats. This geopolitical calculus positions military cooperation as essential for safeguarding Caribbean sovereignty and maintaining peace through demonstrated deterrence capabilities.

A significant diplomatic controversy has erupted within Trinidad and Tobago’s political landscape, pitting current government officials against former leadership over fundamental foreign policy directions. Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath has openly advised former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley to remain in retirement while vigorously defending Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s controversial ‘TT First’ approach to regional affairs.

The political confrontation stems from Persad-Bissessar’s recent criticism of CARICOM (Caribbean Community), which she characterized as an ‘unreliable partner’ suffering from ‘dysfunctional and self-destructive’ tendencies. During a December 20 address, the Prime Minister elaborated that beneath the surface unity of the regional bloc lie ‘many widening fissures’ that threaten its stability. She specifically cited poor management, lax accountability, factional divisions, and inappropriate meddling in member states’ domestic politics as contributing factors to the organization’s rapid deterioration.

These comments emerged following CARICOM leaders’ collective response to recent US immigration restrictions affecting citizens from Haiti, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda. The regional body, now operating as the Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government, had called for renewed engagement between member states and the United States.

Rowley responded with intense criticism through a Facebook statement on December 21, accusing Persad-Bissessar of demonstrating ‘subservience to the US’ and engaging in ‘the most unpatriotic and recklessly incompetent’ leadership he had witnessed in his lifetime. The former Prime Minister asserted that reducing Trinidad and Tobago to a ‘vassal state’ that takes ‘secret instructions from another country’ effectively negates the nation’s constitutional sovereignty and fundamental right to independent decision-making.

In his retaliatory statement, Padarath dismissed Rowley’s decade-long premiership as ineffective and contrasted it with what he described as Persad-Bissessar’s ‘bold leadership, courageous decisions and strategic alliances.’ The Minister emphasized that the current administration refuses to ignore regional challenges including gun trafficking, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, while simultaneously avoiding coddling ‘tyranny and despotism.’

The government’s position maintains that regional solidarity should not rely on utopian fantasies of the Caribbean as a ‘zone of peace,’ but rather confront harsh realities through decisive action. Padarath concluded that the Prime Minister is ‘redefining TT’s foreign policy’ to deliver tangible benefits in national and economic security, fully aligning with the administration’s ‘TT first’ doctrine.