CARICOM is we own “who vex lose”

Dear Editor,
The recent statements by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago concerning regional diplomacy, CARICOM’s reliability, and the region’s posture toward Cuba require a frank but respectful response, for the issue at stake extends far beyond a single Administration. It concerns the credibility, consistency, and future relevance of Caribbean diplomacy itself.
CARICOM has historically articulated a principled foreign policy grounded in sovereignty, non-interference, and regional solidarity. These principles have allowed small Caribbean states to exercise influence in international affairs far beyond their material size. However, principles retain value only when applied consistently. When they become conditional, they cease to function as principles and instead become instruments of convenience.
Recent criticisms suggesting that CARICOM has failed in the face of external tensions overlook the Community’s longstanding diplomatic achievements attained through sustained dialogue, mediation, and collective judgement.
CARICOM has worked to reduce tensions within the hemisphere and has consistently supported negotiated outcomes rather than confrontation. For small states, diplomacy is not passivity; it is the primary mechanism of security. The alternative alignment with external military actors or unilateral foreign policy departures risks transforming the Caribbean into an arena of geopolitical competition rather than preserving it as a zone of stability.
If CARICOM is to be described as an unreliable partner, such a characterisation would more accurately reflect the persistent trade imbalance that exists between Trinidad and Tobago and several fellow Member States. In Guyana, beyond the local business community and the recognised Chinese commercial presence, Trinidadian enterprises occupy a significant portion of the domestic market. Additionally, the Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago holds substantial influence within Guyana’s financial sector. These realities underscore not regional exclusion, but rather the depth of regional economic integration and opportunity that CARICOM has facilitated.
Equally concerning is the dismissal of the Caribbean’s historic relationship with Cuba. This relationship is not incidental history. On December 8, 1972, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago jointly established diplomatic relations with Cuba despite considerable external pressure. That decision represented a defining moment of Caribbean political independence and is commemorated annually as CARICOM-Cuba Friendship Day.
It affirmed that the region would conduct its foreign relations according to its own judgement rather than external instruction.
Since that time, Cuba has moved beyond the rhetoric and has maintained one of the most sustained records of practical cooperation with the Caribbean. Thousands of Caribbean nationals, including Trinidadians who have been educated in Cuban universities, particularly in medicine, and many practising physicians across the region today are Cuban-trained professionals.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuban medical brigades entered several Caribbean states and worked directly within hospitals, healthcare centres and intensive care units when health systems were under severe strain. Their contribution was not rhetorical; it was lifesaving. Cuba has already been more than a friend to the Caribbean; it has been family.
Cuba now faces a profound humanitarian crisis characterised by shortages of food, fuel, electricity, and essential medicines. Whatever one’s political assessment of the Cuban state, humanitarian suffering among civilian populations cannot be treated selectively. CARICOM has consistently advocated human security and opposed measures that harm ordinary people. Silence or distancing in this context risks appearing less like prudence and more like inconsistency.
It is therefore both appropriate and timely for the Caribbean Community to renew, in a clear and unified voice, its longstanding call for the lifting of the decades-long economic embargo imposed upon Cuba. Prolonged comprehensive restrictions that contribute to hardship among civilian populations cannot be reconciled with the humanitarian principles the international community professes to uphold. From a moral and humanitarian perspective, the continued maintenance of measures that materially affect the welfare of ordinary people is neither constructive nor justifiable. Respectful engagement and cooperation, rather than isolation, remain the more humane and effective path.
The Caribbean/CARICOM has never required ideological uniformity in its diplomacy. The region maintains active economic and diplomatic relations with states of varied political systems, including countries that are not liberal democracies. Caribbean Governments engage commercially and strategically with partners such as China, Saudi Arabia, and others in pursuit of development financing, energy cooperation, and infrastructure support. It would therefore be inconsistent and, quite frankly, very hypocritical to single out Cuba for exceptional treatment based solely on political structure while simultaneously maintaining normal relations elsewhere. Sovereignty requires respect for differing political systems, whether or not one shares them.
The Caribbean owes Cuba neither uncritical endorsement nor political alignment. It does, however, owe recognition of shared history, mutual assistance, and adherence to its own declared principles. Criticism of any Government is legitimate; selective moral diplomacy is not. A region that invokes solidarity, sovereignty, and moral authority in global negotiations on climate justice, development financing, and international equity must apply those values consistently or risk weakening its negotiating credibility.
CARICOM states should therefore support humanitarian access, encourage medical and pharmaceutical cooperation, and utilise diplomatic channels to ensure assistance reaches the Cuban people, our affected family.
When the Caribbean faced its own crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba responded in practical and immediate terms. The present moment offers the region an opportunity to demonstrate that its foreign policy remains guided by principle rather than expediency.
Supporting humanitarian assistance to Cuba is not an ideological position. It is an affirmation of Caribbean gratitude, diplomatic consistency, and respect for sovereignty. To defend these principles is to defend CARICOM itself. “Who vex lose”!!!

Yours faithfully,
Jermaine Figueira
Former Member of Parliament