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PRIME MINISTER of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves has questioned Caricom’s ability to co-ordinate its foreign policy, saying the bloc cannot even agree on what constitutes a "zone of peace".
Speaking at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Vice Chancellor’s Forum on October 21, Gonsalves criticised Trinidad and Tobago’s position on Caribbean and Latin America as a zone of peace, calling it a “misguided notion” that requires urgent rethinking.
The hybrid forum, titled Promises, Passports and Possibilities: Free Movement, the CSME and the Caribbean Regionalisation Project, was streamed live on UWI TV and attended both in person and online.
“A zone of peace refers to state actors agreeing not to intervene in or threaten one another. It’s a matter of international law,” Gonsalves said. He emphasised the term does not apply to drug traffickers, arms dealers or human traffickers.
His remarks followed comments by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who told the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 26, the Caribbean could no longer be described as a zone of peace due to the growing threat of transnational crime.
“The reality is stark – no such peace exists today,” she said.
Gonsalves said the confusion around the definition was evident in Caricom’s inconsistent response to tensions between the US and Venezuela.
Gonsalves warned if any external force moves toward regime change in Venezuela, there will be serious consequences for the Caribbean, which includes mass migration and security concerns.
“When there is war or conflict, it is not only good people who flee, but bad actors also, people who exploit the chaos.”
Drawing comparisons with Europe's ongoing migration crisis, he said Venezuelan refugees would continue to flow to TT, Grenada and St Vincent, potentially turning a manageable difficulty into a full-blown crisis. Guyana, he added, would also be directly affected.
“We are in difficult and troubling times. We need calm, patience and maturity in our judgments. We must return to first principles and approach these matters as practical statesmen and stateswomen,” Gonsalves urged.
Calls for deeper Caricom integration
Turning to the forum’s main theme, Gonsalves reiterated the importance of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in its original jurisdiction as the sole authoritative supranational body for interpreting Caricom law. He said it remains essential to the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Freedom of movement, he said, must come with a “bundle of contingent rights”, including access to education and healthcare. He noted St Vincent and the Grenadines already provides these services to migrants and has gone “beyond the minimum requirements”.
He lamented Caricom’s agreement on only a limited set of rights for holders of the Caricom Skills National Certificate, despite the start of full free movement between Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines from October 1.
Gonsalves criticised other member states for failing to implement the full range of rights, saying it undermines regional integration.
“Countries trying to limit freedom of movement are making a mistake. They fail to understand we all face demographic challenges, a lack of skills and even general labour.”
He acknowledged recent reservations by Antigua and Barbuda on full freedom of movement, saying its concerns were understandable given nearly half its population is already non-Antiguan.
On the right of establishment, Gonsalves said the system “works reasonably well” but noted St Vincent requires land licences for foreign nationals due to its limited land space. However, he said it does not prevent business operations.
Trade, currency and airspace disputes
Gonsalves also cited the lack of deeper regional trade integration and ongoing currency and payment challenges as major barriers to progress. He highlighted difficulties in trade with TT, where St Vincent imports over US$80 million in goods annually but faces significant challenges in obtaining US dollars for agricultural exports in return.
“At one point, we exported up to US$20 million in agricultural goods to Trinidad. Now it’s under US$4 million. We are expected to accept TT dollars, which are useless to us unless we spend them back in Trinidad. It’s a nightmare.”
He questioned how foreign exchange could be available for luxury goods or foreign entertainers but not for regional agricultural imports.
“There’s no foreign exchange for yams, dasheen, or sweet potatoes. But you can get it for Camembert cheese or to pay Vybz Kartel US$900,000 to perform. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Gonsalves also pointed to energy-price disparities, particularly TT’s access to cheaper energy, which he said undermines fair competition in Caricom manufacturing. Only Guyana, he noted, has similar energy advantages.
Referencing Chapter Seven of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, he called for more focus on special and differential treatment for disadvantaged countries and sectors. Gonsalves said the Caricom Development Fund remains underfunded and suffers from non-payment by some member states.
Another point of contention is the Piarco Flight Information Region (FIR), which is under TT’s control.
“Trinidad manages that airspace, from Port of Spain to St Kitts, and collects all the revenue. We have no representation in its management. That airspace is our collective property. We need to address that properly.”
He concluded by warning unless these unresolved issues are addressed, regional tensions will deepen and Caricom integration efforts will continue to stall.
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