Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuela has expressed its strong condemnation of the statements issued by the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, against Venezuela, during the opening ceremony of the 50th Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held Tuesday in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.In an official statement this Wednesday, February 25, the Venezuelan government noted that the position expressed by Persad-Bissessar contradicts the integrationist spirit of the region and the founding principles of CARICOM itself. Analysts have noted that her statements provide fresh evidence of a subservient nature toward US imperialism and an underlying xenophobia against Venezuelans.“Contrary to her position, during the opening of this summit, the regional leaders reaffirmed their commitment to good neighborliness,” the Venezuelan statement emphasized, “cooperation, and the values of unity that have governed this organization throughout its history.”The text also highlights that the prime minister’s rhetorical obsession with Venezuela does not represent a national consensus in her country, where the positions of various sectors have publicly distanced themselves from her discourse. According to the statement, the attitude of the prime minister compromises bilateral relations and harms Trinidad and Tobago’s own economic interests by hindering the development of joint strategic projects.Persad-Bissessar’s imperial servitude natureThe Trinidadian prime minister criticized CARICOM for its support of the government of President Nicolás Maduro and thanked the US empire for the military attack carried out on January 3 against Venezuela, as well as the US Southern Command’s involvement in extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, where her own fellow citizens have been murdered.“So how can it be when that regime was threatening violence to two CARICOM member states there was no voice from the CARICOM? We were talking about the zone of peace and, in my respectful view, my country is not a zone of peace,” she said. Analysts claim she is twisting reality, as Venezuela has spent several years defending its legitimate right to the Essequibo territory while her government has effectively turned Trinidad and Tobago into a US military base in order to facilitate the bombing of Venezuela.“Thanks to President Trump, thanks to Secretary Rubio, and the US military. I say thank you today for standing firm against narco-trafficking, human, and arms smuggling originating from Venezuela,” Persad-Bissessar continued. “That is what we were facing in Trinidad and Tobago. Maybe some of you other islands in the Caribbean, your nations do not have that level of illegal migration and, of course, the crime.”Persad-Bissessar is considered by many local and international analysts as a politician fully controlled by US colonialism, reflecting the xenophobic nature of a small section of the Trinidadian people. While Caribbean nations were calling for a zone of peace, Persad-Bissessar claimed the opposite was true for her nation.“We recorded 623 murders in one year in 2024. And 40% of those murders, they were gang related, driven by narcotics, by firearms from smuggling from Venezuela, and gangs coming out of Venezuela and mingling and mixing with gangs in Trinidad,” she claimed, refusing to provide any evidence or details regarding the responsibility of Venezuelans for those crimes.The prime minister decided that Trinidad and Tobago “will no longer be bound by the political ideologies or foreign and security policies” of CARICOM. The country “will develop its foreign and security policies to defend our sovereignty as we deem appropriate,” she insisted. Persad-Bissessar, a staunch supporter of the US ruler, also directly thanked him for ordering the extrajudicial killings operation that has led to the bombing of more than 40 small boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, resulting in almost 150 deaths.Trinidad and Tobago: Kamla to the HagueBelow, you can read the full unofficial translation of the Venezuelan communiqué:The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its firm rejection of the declarations issued by the prime minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, within the framework of the 50th Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).The posture manifested by the prime minister is contradictory to the integrationist spirit of the region and to the founding principles of CARICOM itself, established 53 years ago precisely in the territory of Trinidad and Tobago. Contrary to her position, during the opening of this meeting, regional leaders ratified their commitment to good neighborliness, cooperation, and the values of unity that have governed this organization throughout its history.The rhetorical obsession of the prime minister toward Venezuela does not represent a national consensus in her country, where the stances of various sectors that distance themselves from her discourse are notorious and public. Furthermore, such an attitude not only compromises bilateral relations but also harms the economic interests of Trinidad and Tobago itself by obstructing the development of strategic joint projects of mutual benefit for both states.The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and CARICOM have cultivated ties of friendship and strategic cooperation that have deepened with the advent of the Bolivarian Revolution; a feeling shared with the peoples of the Caribbean and with the vast majority of the governments of the region.The government of Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to the principles of Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy. We reiterate our disposition to deepen cooperation with Caribbean nations, always in strict adherence to international law and to the consolidation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.Caracas, February 25, 2026 Special for Orinoco Tribune by staffOT/JRE/AU