Trinidad PM accuses former CARICOM leaders of hypocrisy over Cuba embargo appeal
Key Points(5)
- Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has accused former Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders of hypocrisy for urging international support for a United Nations resolution calling on the United States to end its economic embargo against Cuba.
- Among the signatories to the appeal is former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr.
- In a response to Guardian Media on Monday, Persad-Bissessar challenged the former regional leaders to accept in their own countries the political system they support for Cuba.
- “I encourage these former Caricom heads to lobby to convert their own countries into dictatorships run by the political parties that they didn’t belong to,” she said.
- “I think they should stop embarrassing themselves with this hypocrisy.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has accused former Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders of hypocrisy for urging international support for a United Nations resolution calling on the United States to end its economic embargo against Cuba.
Among the signatories to the appeal is former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley.
In a response to Guardian Media on Monday, Persad-Bissessar challenged the former regional leaders to accept in their own countries the political system they support for Cuba.
“I encourage these former Caricom heads to lobby to convert their own countries into dictatorships run by the political parties that they didn’t belong to,” she said.
“I think they should stop embarrassing themselves with this hypocrisy. My advice is don’t support an oppressive political system imposed in another country that you don’t want in your own; you make yourselves look ignorant and confused.”
The exchange comes ahead of the UN General Assembly’s annual consideration of a resolution calling for an end to the US economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.
Trinidad and Tobago abstained from last year’s vote, departing from the position taken by most Caricom member states, which have historically supported calls for the removal of US restrictions on Cuba.
The resolution, formally titled The Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial, and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America Against Cuba, has been considered annually by the General Assembly since 1992.
The current vote is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
