Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, accusing her of unpatriotic leadership and undermining the country’s sovereignty following her recent comments distancing Trinidad and Tobago from Caricom positions on U.S. visa restrictions.
In a statement posted to his Facebook page on Sunday, December 21, Rowley said that in all his years living in Trinidad and Tobago since independence in 1962, he had “never seen a more unpatriotic and recklessly incompetent leader” than Persad-Bissessar.
He described her remarks on Caricom and relations with the United States as “one of the most offensive statements about ourselves and our sovereign rights to agree or disagree on matters of concern to us and our wider interests and responsibilities.”
Rowley accused the prime minister and her government of reducing Trinidad and Tobago to what he termed a “vassal state,” alleging that the country was taking “secret instructions from another country” and issuing warnings that citizens should “behave ourselves” to avoid offending the United States and losing access to U.S. visas.
He argued that such a posture amounted to abandoning constitutional principles and the very idea of national self-determination.
“To so publicly withdraw from pertinent Caricom issues and decisions is as close to being a dangerous fifth-columnist as we could get,” Rowley wrote, adding that seeking “reward and protection from the United States” in this manner was “feckless and ignorant.”
The former prime minister further accused Persad-Bissessar of failing to be transparent with the public, claiming that she has militarised the country while refusing to explain to citizens what agreements have been reached with U.S. authorities. He also criticised her for not appearing before the local media to answer questions, describing her positions as “treacherous and defiant edicts.”
Rowley said Persad-Bissessar had gone so far as to label public demands for information as “anti-American,” a stance he argued was deeply troubling given her recent electoral mandate.
“For the future of this country, we hope that this ends soon,” he concluded, “but it does not look too good.”
Rowley’s comments add to the growing political fallout from Persad-Bissessar’s declaration that CARICOM is “not a reliable partner at this time,” a statement that has already exposed sharp divisions among regional leaders over foreign policy, sovereignty and relations with Washington.
