The Caribbean’s Zone of Peace Under Threat: A Conversation With Trinidadian Labor Activist David Abdullah

A Trinidadian labor activist talks about his government’s submissive position to the US in the face of the imperialist buildup against Venezuela, and the correlation of forces in the region.

Recently, the Assembly of Caribbean People called for an International Day of Action in Defense of the Caribbean on October 16, with demonstrations and events in more than a dozen countries to reaffirm the region as a Zone of Peace. The initiative came amid a sharp escalation of US military activity in the Caribbean basin, including new deployments of warships and airplanes, extrajudicial attacks on boats, and bilateral agreements that threaten regional sovereignty and integration.

In this context, Venezuelanalysis interviewed labor leader and politician David Abdulah of the Assembly of Caribbean People, who is also coordinator of Trinidad and Tobago’s Movement for Social Justice [MSJ]. In the interview, Abdulah discusses Trinidad and Tobago’s alignment with Washington, the US attempts to fragment CARICOM [Caribbean Community], and the urgent need for grassroots mobilization to defend regional sovereignty. He also recalls Eric Williams’ powerful vision of Caribbean independence and reflects on the role of regional bodies ALBA-TCP and CELAC in reviving the Caribbean’s long-standing commitment to peace.

As Washington escalates its military presence near Venezuela, some Latin American and Caribbean countries have voiced concern or outright rejection. Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s government has endorsed the deployment, with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar explicitly backing the US operations. How do you interpret T&T’s position in the context of the US military siege on Venezuela?
Before becoming Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, while serving as Leader of the Opposition, Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar openly declared her support for Juan Guaidó as the so-called president of Venezuela. She even went so far as to call on the United States to sanction Trinidad and Tobago after Vice President Delcy Rodríguez made a short visit to the country to meet with then-Prime Minister Keith Rowley during the COVID-19 period.

In short, Persad-Bissessar has long aligned herself with Washington’s position on Venezuela. Her current stance is therefore not surprising, though it is deeply disappointing, as it reverses Trinidad and Tobago’s longstanding tradition of pursuing an independent foreign policy based on the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and mutual respect for sovereignty.

Some CARICOM states have defended sovereignty and invoked the Caribbean as a “Zone of Peace,” while others have issued lukewarm statements or avoided taking a stand, thus abetting US militarization. Can you explain the origins and meaning of the Zone of Peace doctrine, and how you see the current balance of forces within CARICOM as the United States seeks to consolidate control over the region? Is Caribbean integration—and CARICOM’s ability to establish an autonomous foreign policy—at risk?
Many years ago, the leaders of the newly independent CARICOM countries affirmed that the Caribbean should be a Zone of Peace. Errol Barrow was the Prime Minister of Barbados when CARICOM was established in 1973 by four countries: Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados.

This is some of what Barrow said some years later, in 1986, when he addressed CARICOM Heads of Government:

My position also remains clear—that the Caribbean must be recognized and respected as a zone of peace. In this connection, I should like to make further references to [former T&T Prime Minister] Eric Williams… speech “From Slavery to Chaguaramas,” made in 1960 over the issue of the United States base [in Chaguaramos, Trinidad, previously a British naval base]:

“As Europe went out, the USA came in. After getting their independence, which had been based on large-scale trade connections with the West Indies, most of them illegal, most of them involving smuggling, the new USA began from the very start to look upon the West Indies and the Caribbean Sea as their sphere of influence. They began shortly after independence by publishing the Monroe Doctrine, stating that they would not want to see any extension of European colonialism in the West Indies… The ambition clearly stated in those days was to dominate the entire hemisphere… But if the whole West Indian movement is towards control of its own affairs, I, too, should like to know the clause in Adam’s will which denies the West Indian people a share of this world, especially a share of the world that rightly belongs to them!”

I have said, and I repeat that while I am Prime Minister of Barbados: our territory will not be used to intimidate any of our neighbors, be that neighbor Cuba or the USA! And I do not believe that size is necessarily the only criterion for determining these matters. But it is important to let people know where you stand, if they will support you in what is a moral commitment to peace in our region.

It should be noted that the four countries that were independent at the time of the formation of CARICOM recognized Cuba and established diplomatic and other relations with it. This was in 1973, when in this hemisphere only Mexico dared to recognize Cuba!

Trump has always wanted to divide CARICOM. He did this in the first term, and this resulted in some CARICOM countries becoming part of the odious Lima Group [a US-promoted coalition of right-wing Latin American governments formed to push for regime change in Venezuela].

He is doing the same thing now in relation to Venezuela and is being facilitated by some CARICOM governments. This is creating a rift within CARICOM, perhaps as deep as the one created when some CARICOM Heads supported Reagan in the invasion of Grenada in October 1983 and others opposed it. It took almost a decade for CARICOM to recover from that division.

The ALBA-TCP alliance, which includes several Caribbean nations, has been one of the most vocal voices condemning US military deployment as a threat to peace, sovereignty, and regional stability. In your view, what role can ALBA and other instruments of Latin American and Caribbean integration play in articulating a counter-narrative to US intervention and defending our region’s sovereignty?
ALBA-TCP is an important body that can speak with a collective voice in defense of the region’s sovereignty. So is the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Association of Caribbean States, which includes all the countries washed by the Caribbean Sea. Progressive countries must ensure that these and other multilateral bodies, especially the Organization of American States [OAS], are not used to reverse their decisions. In other words, such institutions must not be weaponized in the service of the US imperial and colonial agenda.

We must also recognize that many right-wing or pro-Washington governments exist across Latin America and the Caribbean. We must find ways to prevent them from using multilateral forums to advance US interests. Every mechanism and forum that can address this issue must be involved, as this is a crucial moment in the history of our region and, indeed, of the world. Silence is not an option.

President Maduro Announces New Defense Corridor, International Volunteers Offer Support Against US

Reports indicate the presence of US warships, submarines, naval task forces, aircraft, and missile-defense systems in Caribbean waters, along with growing bilateral military exercises. The US has signed a Status of Forces Agreement [SOFA] with Trinidad and Tobago, and there have even been reports of special operations and Black Hawk helicopters off the country’s coast. What is actually known about US deployments, and how do you interpret Washington’s growing military footprint in and around Trinidad and Tobago?
There has long been cooperation between CARICOM governments and the US, British, and French governments in matters of security. Most of these agreements concern mutual efforts to combat illegal activities such as drug, human, and arms trafficking. This cooperation is not inherently negative, since crime is transnational and requires information-sharing, intelligence, and collaboration in interdiction.

SOFAs, among other agreements, have existed for many years, as have joint military exercises. However, the last Trinidad and Tobago government signed a SOFA, which had no expiration date. This is very bad. These agreements do not give explicit permission to the US to deploy its military in our countries. The US requires the explicit approval of our government to deploy in our territory. That’s why it was so dangerous for the T&T Prime Minister to openly state that she would give the US permission to use our country’s territory if Venezuela attacked Guyana. Of course, Venezuela is not going to attack Guyana, so this statement suggested the possibility of a false-flag operation.

The US is putting a lot of pressure on other CARICOM countries to allow the placement of military assets on their territory, as has been reported in Grenada. The head of SOUTHCOM visited Grenada and Antigua this week, and I am sure this forms part of the US strategy regarding its military objective in Venezuela. There is no US military deployment in T&T at this time, but we all know that the US has deployed massive military assets to the southern Caribbean. They are not designed to deal with illegal trafficking, but are offensive assets designed to attack another country, and the objective is regime change in Venezuela.

The blowing up of several small boats and the killing of all those on board is a crime. Moreover, the US has provided no evidence that those persons were engaged in any illegal activity. In any case, those were extrajudicial killings, which is itself a crime.

With the US expanding its military presence throughout the Caribbean, what concrete steps should Trinidad and Tobago—and CARICOM as a whole—take to defend sovereignty, strengthen regional integration, and reaffirm the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace? What diplomatic, legal, or grassroots initiatives could help ensure that any military activity in the region is accountable to the peoples of the Caribbean?
I think that the real action in defense of the Caribbean being a Zone of Peace has to come from the grassroots first. This is why the Assembly of Caribbean People issued a declaration, which has now been signed by more than 500 people, many representing progressive organizations, social movements, and political parties, as well as well-known public figures.

We just organized a region-wide “Day of Action in Defense of the Caribbean” on Thursday, October 16. Activities were held in 15 countries, from press conferences and statements to pickets at US embassies and public demonstrations. The important thing is that we have begun a process through which our collective voices are being raised on this issue. This should strengthen those CARICOM heads of government who are holding fast to the principled position that the Caribbean must remain a Zone of Peace, send a message of encouragement to those under US pressure to stand firm, and remind those who support Washington that they are on the wrong side of history.

(Venezuelanalysis.com) by Cira Pascual Marquina