Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC has called on the CARICOM Secretariat to release documents related to the February Heads of Government Retreat and the reappointment of Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett.
In a social media statement on Sunday, the Prime Minister requested meeting minutes, performance appraisals, and records from both the 2021 and 2026 appointment processes, as well as documentation referenced in a letter from Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Sean Sobers sent on April 9th, 2026 to the regional body.
She expressed concern over what she described as a lack of transparency on this matter, stating: “Any progress towards deepening the integration process is being diminished by the continued aversion to transparency regarding this surreptitious, corrupted and flawed process used to reappoint GS Barnett. The deliberate attempts to avoid accountability but instead willfully and publicly smear my Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Sean Sobers will continue to be met with public responses from myself and my government.”
The Prime Minister also pointed to CARICOM’s own records, which she noted show that between January 19th and February 26th, eight messages were sent to Trinidad and Tobago regarding a ” soon to be legendary CARICOM shirt”, while none addressed agenda items concerning the reappointment of the Secretary General.
“Clearly the shirt was of utmost significance and importance but the reappointment of the GS of CARICOM was not.”
She further highlighted what she described as a critical omission in responses to her government’s queries: a WhatsApp message sent at 8:56am on February 26th, the day of the CARICOM Retreat in Nevis, which indicated that the meeting was restricted to Heads of Government.
She quoted from the WhatsApp message: “Good morning Foreign Ministers. Chairman PM Drew has indicated that today will be a Heads only retreat. Notwithstanding any indication otherwise, he would like it to remain Heads only. He apologizes for any inconvenience. Ministers should therefore remain for the Community Council Meeting to complete its work, including those agenda items from the Heads agenda which Community Council is to consider and provide recommendations to Heads for adoption.”
According to the Prime Minister, the WhatsApp message was later verified by Trinidad and Tobago’s Director of CARICOM Affairs and followed by confirmations from CARICOM Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller.
She also cited a February 22nd, 2026 email from the Chef de Cabinet which, she said, similarly indicated that the retreat was intended only for Heads of Government, contradicting claims that Minister Sobers had been invited.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar questioned the circumstances under which Minister Sobers was not present at the retreat and called for clarification from CARICOM officials, including Secretary-General Barnett and the Chef de Cabinet.
“When will Barnett and Miller address this WhatsApp message which was sent to foreign ministers including Minister Sobers that was verified by our Director of CARICOM? At best Minister Sobers was disinvited because he had no fancy CARICOM shirt, at worst he was disinvited to deliberately facilitate Ms Barnett’s surreptitious reappointment process.”
The Prime Minister further expressed hope that CARICOM citizens would be provided with time-stamped copies of the requested documents as scrutiny continues over the regional body’s decision-making processes.
* See the Prime Minister’s full statement below:
According to CARICOMs own documents posted last night, between January 19th and February 26th (39 days) eight messages were sent to T&T regarding the soon to be legendary CARICOM shirt but zero messages were sent regarding any agenda item to reappoint GS Barnett. Clearly the shirt was of utmost significance and importance but the reappointment of the GS of CARICOM was not.
They also chose to intentionally leave out a response to a most important aspect of our letter: the notification via WHATSAPP at 8:56am on February 26th, 2026 (the actual day of the Retreat), from the CARICOM Secretariat that the Retreat was for Heads of Governments ONLY and subsequent confirmations from the Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller.
“Good morning Foreign Ministers. Chairman PM Drew has indicated that today will be a Heads only retreat. Notwithstanding any indication otherwise, he would like it to remain Heads only. He apologizes for any inconvenience. Ministers should therefore remain for the Community Council Meeting to complete its work, including those agenda items from the Heads agenda which Community Council is to consider and provide recommendations to Heads for adoption.”
When will Barnett and Miller address this WhatsApp message which was sent to foreign ministers including Minister Sobers that was verified by our Director of CARICOM? At best Minister Sobers was disinvited because he had no fancy CARICOM shirt, at worst he was disinvited to deliberately facilitate Ms Barnett’s surreptitious reappointment process.
Even their own email from Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller dated 22nd February 2026 states that the retreat is only for heads of government which contradicts their position that Minister Sobers was invited.
Where are the minutes of the retreat meeting? Where’s GS Barnett’s performance appraisal? Where’s the documentation of the 2021 appointment process which is claimed to be the same as the 2026 process. Where’s the other documentation requested in our letter of April 9th 2026?
Hopefully the citizens of CARICOM will be provided with time stamped copies of these documents.
Any progress towards deepening the integration process is being diminished by the continued aversion to transparency regarding this surreptitious, corrupted and flawed process used to reappoint GS Barnett. The deliberate attempts to avoid accountability but instead willfully and publicly smear my Minister of Foreign and CARICOM affairs Sean Sobers will continue to be met with public responses from myself and my government.
I again call on the CARICOM secretariat for the requested documentation that was itemized in Minister Sobers April 9th 2026 letter to be provided.