Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers says it is “discourteous” that there has been no response to multiple letters sent from his ministry seeking answers on the reappointment of Caricom Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett.
He disclosed yesterday that some Caricom member representatives were “disinvited” to a retreat on the island of Nevis where a decision was taken on the reappointment.
CHAIRMAN: Dr Terrance Drew
He maintained this was both in breach of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and “disrespectful”.
In a telephone interview with the Express yesterday, Sobers said he supported the position taken by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her call for Caricom chairman Dr Terrance Drew and the Caricom Secretariat to explain the process by which Barnett was reappointed.
The Prime Minister said until this matter is transparently resolved, the organisation and its secretariat should expect “no quarter from my Government” as she vowed to “mercilessly, relentlessly and if needed, ruthlessly publicly prosecute this matter until transparency is achieved”.
It is the Government’s view the reappointment took place in a “surreptitious and odious” manner, as this country, Antigua and Barbuda, and The Bahamas were not privy to the process—which reportedly took place during a “retreat” on the island of Nevis.
“The Prime Minister is absolutely correct in her call (Monday),” said Sobers. “We want to know exactly what took place and how it took place. And, essentially, that is what the letters call for.”
He said the direction to be adopted will be charted by the Prime Minister.
Moving forward, Sobers said Trinidad and Tobago will call a meeting of the Community Council—a meeting of foreign affairs ministers—to determine an agenda that can go before the Conference of Heads, to address the issue of the reappointment or election of a secretary-general.
He noted the Conference of Heads does not have to be the July meeting; it could be held virtually in a timely and appropriate manner.
Sobers said Trinidad and Tobago is an active participant in Caricom’s various bodies and plays a pivotal role. “We are active contributors to Caricom’s financial status. When it comes to something as important as the reappointment of the Secretary-General, who is charged with the responsibility to run and operate the body effectively and efficiently, and we are not involved in the process—that can’t be right,” he said.
The minister cited as an example that a company cannot call an AGM and not inform or invite shareholders.
“They (shareholders) are not given an opportunity to send a proxy to attend, to vote accordingly as to who will continue or who will lead the company for the next financial or fiscal term or fiscal year. It’s ludicrous.
“So, something has to be done to reset the situation, to make sure that not only Trinbagonian citizens feel comfortable with the operations of Caricom, but that the entire region feels comfortable with the operations of Caricom,” he said.
Sobers also dismissed “mischief makers” on social media who claimed that had the Prime Minister stayed for the retreat, she would have been privy to the discussion on Barnett’s re-appointment.
“That is absolutely false. Those mischief makers are speaking from either a position of complete ignorance or a position of misfortune, where they just want to create mischief,” he said.
He said several heads of government were not present.
He explained that the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas allows responsibilities to be delegated to foreign ministers or others chosen by the heads of government, allowing that person to become the head of delegation with full powers to attend meetings and make decisions on behalf of their country.
Sobers said this responsibility was given to him by the Prime Minister as he reiterated that Trinidad and Tobago was not part of the retreat as well as ministers who were appointed to represent their nations.
Members ‘disinvited’
He said the Caricom Secretariat “disinvited” these members as he described this as a “disrespectful” move.
Sobers said this was in breach of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, as he noted that Article 11(2) of the treaty refers to the composition of Caricom.
Specifically, it states: “Any Head of Government of a Member State may designate a Minister or another person to represent him or her at any meeting of the Conference.”
He noted the treaty states that the member representative represents the vote of the member state.
“So for the Secretariat to disinvite us, that was disrespectful,” he said. Sobers said further that a legal opinion was not sought.
Said Sobers: “We have a fully well-functioning operating Caricom division, we have a Cabinet full of lawyers, the Prime Minister is a senior counsel, the AG is a senior counsel. We are all well read on what the treaty provides for, and what the process and procedure dictates.
“So we are not like the previous administration that would want to haphazardly spend money on something that doesn’t require that money to be spent on.”
The Express tried to contact Caricom chairman Drew, but calls and messages to his phone went unanswered yesterday.
On March 25, 2026, Drew announced that the “required majority” of heads of government had agreed to reappoint Barnett for a second five-year term beginning in August 2026, when her current term concludes. The announcement came via a news release, with no record of the decision appearing in the official summary of confirmed decisions circulated by the Caricom Secretariat on March 2.
Excerpts of letters
— March 25, 2026—Letter from Sobers to Drew:
I refer to your telephone conversation of March 24th, 2026 in which you referenced the re appointment of the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community and the recently concluded Fiftieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in St Kitts and Nevis from February 24th to 26th 2026.
It is my understanding that the current term of the Secretary-General is due to conclude on 14 August 2026, however, formal communication on this has not yet been received.
Additionally, as you are aware, during the Retreat of Heads of Government held on 26 February 2026 in Nevis, discussions reportedly took place regarding the re-appointment of Dr Barnett as Secretary-General for a second term. It is a matter of record that Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and The Bahamas were not allowed to participate in this Retreat as representatives on behalf of their respective Heads of Government. Consequently, Trinidad and Tobago was not privy to the deliberations on this matter.
Based upon the foregoing, we wish to place on record Trinidad and Tobago’s disagreement with the reappointment of Secretary-General Barnett. We believe this was not done in the spirit and letter of Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) that states that the Secretary General shall be appointed by the Conference, on the recommendation of the Community Council, for a term not exceeding five years, and may be reappointed by the Conference.
— March 31, 2026—Letter from Sobers to Drew:
Given the importance of the process by which the Secretary-General is re-appointed to the credibility and legitimacy of the institution of Caricom, and to ensure the transparent functioning of the organisation, Trinidad and Tobago would be grateful to receive clarification on the following:
• Any communication, sent by Letter, Savingram or Email, by which the re-appointment of the Secretary-General was added to the Draft Provisional Agenda sent to Member States on January 16th 2026 via Savingram No 25/2026;
• Any communication, sent by Letter, Savingram or Email, by which the re-appointment of the Secretary-General was added to the Draft Provisional Annotated Agenda sent to Member States on January 30th 2026 via Savingram No 30/2026;
• Any communication sent to Member States after January 30th 2026 that included the re-appointment of the Secretary-General on the Draft Provisional Agenda or the Draft Annotated Agenda;
• Whether Member States were informed on or after the issuance of the Joint Communiqué on March 1st 2026 of the decision to re-appointment the Secretary-General;
• Whether Member States were informed on or after the convening of the Press Conference held at the conclusion of the Conference of the re-appointment of the Secretary-General;
• Whether the matter of the draft decision on the re-appointment of the Secretary-General was circulated confidentially in writing to all Heads of Government for adoption after the Retreat;
• Whether those Heads of Government present at the Retreat deemed the issue of the re-appointment of the Secretary-General too sensitive to be shared with all Member States.
— March 31, 2026—Letter from Sobers to Barnett (similar content requesting information as was done in the letter to Drew)
— March 31, 2026—Letter from Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs permanent secretary Randall Karim to Janice Miller, Chef-de-Cabinet, Office of the Secretary-General, Caribbean Community Secretariat (Similar request for information as outlined in the letters to Drew and Barnett)
However, the letter further stated: Trinidad and Tobago notes that in 2016, the issue of the re-appointment of the then Secretary-General was proposed for discussion in Caucus during the 27th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government and the decision recorded in the Summary of Recommendations and Conclusions of the Meeting reflected the views of all Heads of Government present. Trinidad and Tobago wishes to reiterate that it appears that the process adopted at this juncture for the re-appointment of the Secretary-General did not adhere to an approved framework approved by the organisation, namely the Rules of Procedure, to deal with such issues, inclusive of the recording of the decision and how the decision was confirmed.
April 6, 2026—Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar issues a public call to Caricom demanding answers on the reappointment.
