Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds has stressed that the presence of United States troops and naval assets in Caribbean waters must be carefully managed to prevent unintended consequences for ordinary citizens, even as the region seeks deeper cooperation with Washington to curb the flow of illegal weapons.
In a recent interview, Symmonds revealed that CARICOM foreign ministers have written to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting formal talks on Washington’s military posture in the hemisphere. The initiative, he explained, emerged through the Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community, currently chaired by St. Kitts and Nevis’ former prime minister Dr. Denzil Douglas. The letter followed discussions at the African Union–CARICOM summit in Ethiopia earlier this year, but the region is still awaiting a response.
- Advertisement -
“What we would want to be able to have with him is discussions about the need to bring down the temperature,” Symmonds said. “There is serious concern across the Eastern Caribbean—indeed across the region—about the high level of illegal weapons entering our islands. If the United States’ presence is entirely about that, then that is a matter which we would not resist. That is something we would welcome and wish to participate in meaningfully. Anything beyond that becomes a slightly different issue.”
The minister’s comments come amid heightened regional anxiety following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on September 2 that American forces had killed 11 people in a strike on a Venezuelan vessel allegedly carrying narcotics. The operation was the first known strike since Trump’s administration deployed warships to the southern Caribbean. Washington has identified the crew as members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang the U.S. designated as a terrorist group earlier this year, and accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of controlling the group—an allegation Caracas denies.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has publicly endorsed the U.S. naval deployment and the strike on the vessel, praising Washington’s stance against drug cartels. But Symmonds warned that military action carried out without transparency and due process risked undermining the very rule of law that both the U.S. and Caribbean nations uphold.
“We really do not know all the facts surrounding the destruction of the ship in question or who was on board,” he said. “It ought not to be a set of circumstances where these things take place without fullest transparency. People should be arrested, charged, tried, and guilt established in law. That is the way the United States functions, that is the way our jurisdictions function, and there should be no departure from that.”
He stressed that while Barbados recognizes the need for strong measures against arms and narcotics trafficking, operations must never compromise civilian safety. Fishing communities in particular, he noted, depend on safe access to international waters and could be exposed to unintended harm if security actions lack proper safeguards.
“The slightest misstep can result in severe consequences to innocent people,” Symmonds said. “We need to know that there is certainty when these types of things are being done—that there is not an arbitrariness that can impact the life or safety of innocent people. That is why the fullest level of caution, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law ought to be applied.”
Questions have also surfaced about whether the Regional Security System (RSS), headquartered in Barbados, was informed before the U.S. moved personnel and assets into the region. Symmonds said he could not confirm or deny whether prior notification was given. The RSS, which unites the security forces of seven Eastern Caribbean states, has long played a central role in regional coordination on drug interdiction and disaster response.
The increased U.S. military presence has also reignited speculation about whether Washington’s actions are more closely tied to its longstanding tensions with Venezuela than to regional security. Symmonds maintained that Barbados’ relationship with Caracas has not changed, insisting that the core issue for CARICOM is cooperation with the United States on its declared mission in the region.
“Our issue is not about Venezuela,” he said. “The issue for us is about cooperation on the stated intentions of the American administration with regard to their presence in the region. I have every reason to believe that, as partners with us in this region, the Americans will only act in good faith.”
He emphasized that the Barbadian government’s priority is to balance security imperatives with careful diplomacy. “It ought not to be an us-versus-them type of approach,” Symmonds said. “We need to thread this needle carefully, because the slightest misstep can result in severe consequences.”
