In February this year, the Antigua and Barbuda diplomat, Sir Ronald Sanders wrote ‘CARICOM’s ability to coordinate foreign policy – once a source of strength in the 1970s – has also deteriorated’.
He argued then that on crucial geopolitical matters, the 15 member regional integration movement ‘have become vulnerable to external influence, easily divided by powerful nations seeking bilateral advantage’.
He said none of this is in CARICOM’s interest, ‘especially now, when small states face existential threats that require a united regional front’.
In a 2011 paper entitled ‘Caribbean Regional Integration,’ a group of academics at the Trinidad-based Institute of International Relations (IIR), including the late Professor Norman Girvan, said that ‘CARICOM is central to any movement forward in the regional integration agenda.
‘It is clear from our analysis that there is huge support throughout the region for the integration process, and this needs to be harnessed for the benefit of all,’ they wrote.
However, divisions within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is not new.
One CARICOM diplomat told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the question now confronting the region is how will these new differences will be mended to hold the regional integration grouping together.
‘February 2026 heads of government summit must attempt to address the issues that have emerged as threatening tge survival of CARICOM,’ the diplomat said, adding that ‘ issues of trust and where self-interest prevails over regional solidarity must be high on the agenda’.