This is a commentary on the current Caricom Split. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the position of Unitedpac St Lucia News.
Ken Ali, a commentator from Trinidad, submitted this piece addressing recent CARICOM diplomacy, regional leadership, and the Guyana-Venezuela Essequibo dispute. The commentary discusses reactions to Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, during visits to Caribbean states amid heightened geopolitical tension, highlighting the emerging CARICOM split. According to reporting by AP News, Guyana formally protested Rodríguez’s display of a disputed Essequibo symbol during official regional visits, while CARICOM reaffirmed support for Guyana’s sovereignty.
Full Commentary on the CARICOM Split
STUART, MIA CAUGHT IN DELCY’S CARICOM GAMES
DELCY Rodriguez must be smiling sadistically at Miraflores Palace at how easy it is to manipulate Caricom’s tin gods.
The Acting Venezuelan President has set a cat among the pigeons to the extent that one regional leader is complaining about – of all things – the jewelry she wore during a diplomatic outreach.
Peculiar recent events are further confirming Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s graphic depiction of Caricom as an “unreliable partner” that is dysfunctional and self-destructive.
Certain regional leaders are being shamelessly outplayed by a shrewd Europe-educated Ms. Rodriguez, who has vast political skills and rooted survival instincts.
They include Mia Mottley, with her outsized leadership image, being dubbed four years ago as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential global figures.
It should have been obvious that Ms. Rodriguez has strategically timed her diplomatic meetings mere days before the International Court of Justice’s oral hearings on the Guyana-Venezuela Essequibo territorial dispute. She is seeking goodwill from neighbours and exploiting the lack of big-picture perspective along the corridors of Caricom power.
No one challenged her about Venezuela’s brazen breach of the 2023 Argyle Agreement, which had aimed to resolve the land row.
First, Ms. Rodriguez entertained Stuart Young, who is scrambling for political relevance as he pitches a leadership challenge against PNM’s wobbly boss, Pennelope Beckles.
Anxious for a photo op, Young hurried to Caracas, leaving Ms. Beckles and party chairman Marvin Gonzales shocked to see him shaking hands.
Then, Ms. Rodriguez travelled to Grenada, dazzling Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell with a bagful of bombast, such as “strengthening strategic integration.”
Mitchell, a 48-year-old first-term Prime Minister, still does not know what hit him.
In Bridgetown, Ms. Mottley, for all her international tough talk, was also putty to Ms. Rodriguez’s guile, and did not rebuke her on the Essequibo conflict.
As for Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali, he is troubled by the symbol of the Venezuelan leader’s jewels, and fired off a protest letter to Caricom’s current chair Dr. Terrance Drew.
Was Drew supposed to tell Ms. Rodriguez how to dress for her meetings?
The raw issue is the lack of meaningful cohesion and shared interests in the grossly underperforming Caricom.
Instead of entertaining Ms. Rodriguez, regional leaders should have stood solidly and told her to keep her provocative hands off the disputed 166,000 square-kilometre Essequibo lands.
But then again, Caricom cannot unite in appointing a Secretary General.
This latest wrangle again exposes the regional group as a merry band of self-important posers lacking core beliefs and single-minded purpose.
Ms. Persad-Bissessar properly called them out the other day.
— Ken Ali
For further background on CARICOM’s institutional challenges, see: CARICOM: Dysfunctional, Failing Region
