Caribbean & Central America - February 2026

Like much of the Western world, the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) have been grappling with the challenge of how to deal with US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US capture of Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro (2013-2016) on 3 January in particular has exacerbated the already existing difficulties that had been developing over the Trump administration’s tough policies on immigration and drug trafficking.

Caricom responded to the seizure of Maduro and his wife by US troops with a statement from its Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government, comprising Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, and St Lucia. It stated that Caricom “is firmly committed to the fundamental principles of international law and multilateralism enshrined in the UN Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and respect for human dignity”. And it called for “peaceful dialogue through diplomatic channels to ensure Venezuela’s stability, good governance, democracy and prosperity for the people of Venezuela”.

For some members of Caricom, this was too anodyne for their tastes. The views of those wanting a stronger response were reflected by Ralph Gonsalves, the former prime minister of St Vincent & the Grenadines who lost power in November 2025 after a 24-year domination [SSR-26-01]. He criticised the statement for having failed to state clearly that the US intervention was a breach of international law.

Without going as far as Gonsalves would want, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell of Grenada was one of those who let his disquiet about the US operation filter into his public statements. Speaking on 5 January, he said that Grenada’s position was that “diplomacy, dialogue, negotiation, and compromise” were the only way to achieve “sustainable, long-term resolution to differences”. And when asked what he thought about Trump’s comment that the US would “run” Venezuela, he said: “The only way a country can run another country…is if that territory belongs to that country or is a colony of that country.”

It may have been a coincidence, but on the same day that Mitchell made his slightly critical remarks about the US intervention in Venezuela, the US Department of State upgraded its travel advisory for Grenada from Level 1 to ‘Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution’. Grenada had previously been considered one of the lower-risk destinations in the Caribbean. In an effort to retain friendly ties with Washington, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis, and St Lucia (all of which have been under pressure from the US over their Citizenship By Investment [CBI] programmes) have bowed to US pressure to accept rejected asylum seekers from the US who cannot return to their countries of origin. Guyana, which sees the US as its ultimate guarantor in its territorial dispute with Venezuela, has also been in talks with the US.

Probably not coincidental was the reward Trinidad & Tobago received for its strong support of the US over Venezuela. When the US announced the suspension of the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries from 21 January, Trinidad & Tobago was exempted. Not so lucky were 11 of Caricom’s 15 members, namely Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines.

Trinidad seeks to be main US ally in Caribbean

Trinidad & Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has strongly aligned with the Trump administration, both on its policy of destroying alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and on the seizure of Maduro and his wife. At the same time, a rift has grown between Trinidad and its fellow Caricom members, with Persad-Bissessar calling Caricom an “unreliable partner”.